A local lab that processes Coronavirus tests is responding to a skyrocketing demand for testing capacity.
As the number of coronavirus cases rises in north alabama -- testing remains a high priority.
Waay 31's will robinson-smith visited diatherix in huntsville today.
He joins us live with how the lab says it's handling a skyrocketing demand for testing that's leading to more jobs for technicians.
We spoke with diatherix at the end of april to get a snapshot of how testing was going.
They said the demand has greatly increased in the last two months and they're making changes to keep up.
It's been a long time since folks at diatherix eurofins had what they would call a slow day.
In the two months since we last visited, they've gone from processing three to four thousand tests per day to about seven or eight thousand daily.
Doctor jeff wisotzkey is the chief scientific officer for diatherix.
He said the growth in demand was faster than they initially predicted.
Dr. jeff wisotzkey, chief scientific officer, diatherix eurofins we're seeing a real, rapid ramp up in the testing requests and we're trying to manage our capacity so that we can handle the requests as they come our way.
Wisotzkey says the lab technicians work many long hours to keep up with demand and they're in the process of looking at bringing on additional staff and adding some robotics to further increase their capacity.
Wisotzkey i've never worked with people that were more dedicated to getting the job done.
We ask a lot of them and they're doing it.
It's incredible.
Will robinson-smith over the course of the rest of the summer, diatherix is going to transform this 11,000 square foot space into additional laboratories to expand their testing capacity.
As you can see right now, they're in the process of ordering the instruments to go in this space, but in addition to bringing on more centrifuges and molecular instrumentation, they're also going to be adding additional staff.
In addition to diagnostic testing, many places, including lifesouth are offering antibody tests.
Isiah burgin got his antibody test results back yesterday.
After learning he was positive, he decided to donate some plasma to help those hospitalized with the virus.
Isaiah burgin, donated convalescent plasma if this plasma could be used to treat them and get them well, then i thought it was probably my civic duty to come out and try to help those people out.
And as the technicians continue to plug away at diatherix, dr. wisotzkey says the best way people can thank them is to do their part to slow the spread, like staying physically distant and wearing a mask in public.
Wisotzkey our folks are exhausted and working almost every day.
They're putting in long hours and that would be the message that they would give to our community."
Dr. wisotzkey says in the past couple of months they've added about 60 people to help increase their testing capacity and are still looking for qualified folks to join their workforce here.
Reporting live in huntsville, will robinson-smith, waay 31 news.
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