Even with the rush to get tested before the Christmas holiday, finding any form of COVID-19 test can be difficult.

Even while pharmacy chains say they're attempting to keep up with demand, shelves of at-home testing remain bare across the state. In Detroit, the hotline for scheduling a COVID test was so busy on Monday that some people had trouble getting through. Health officials and hospital executives in Metro Detroit say there is a surge in demand for tests.

The Macomb County Health Department's director and health officer, Andrew Cox, claimed that COVID-19 testing is up significantly at their Sterling Heights location. They're also getting more testing-related inbound calls to our COVID-19 Helpline, and they'll keep supporting these efforts to make COVID-19 testing more accessible.

Over the last few days, the emergency department at the University of Michigan health system has noticed a surge in patients seeking COVID-19 testing, according to Dr. Brad Uren, associate professor of emergency medicine at Michigan Medicine. He believes the high number is due in part to pharmacies closing for the holidays on Friday and Saturday, reducing testing access.

Uren added that they are still seeing a lot of COVID patients, and while some of them have mild symptoms, they are still seeing some people who are pretty unwell and require hospitalization. Spectrum Health System's 14 hospitals in west Michigan are also seeing more traffic at their emergency rooms, according to Brian Brasser, Spectrum's chief operating officer. This testing is critical for preventing the spread of disease in a timely manner.

For more info at The Detroit News, check out the link below;

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2021/12/27/demand-remains-high-covid-tests-after-christmas-michigan/9027225002/?s=08