A person is swabbed at a COVID-19 testing site in Times Square in New York, the United States, Jan. 9, 2022. (Photo by Michael Nagle/Xinhua)
NEW YORK, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- For many Americans, testing for COVID-19 means long waits that bring more risks or spending extra money, The New York Times reported Monday.
Many Americans have been waiting in long lines at free testing sites since before the Christmas and New Year's holiday rush.
Some went to crowded emergency rooms in hopes of getting tested, inviting more risks to themselves and others, and potentially delaying emergency care for the ill and injured, the report said.
People can only avoid long lines by paying at least 20 U.S. dollars for over-the-counter and at-home tests if they can find one.
The current demand for testing far exceeds the resources available, the paper quoted Michael T. Osterholm, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, as saying. ■
