Testing for workers when they return

Testing for workers when they return

Health crisis.

New information... as businesses re-open with looser coronanvirus restrictions, some - like president trump - suggest that regular testing of workers can be done now.

But others - like huntsville hospital c-e-o david spillers and huntsville mayor tommy battle - say that's not practical.

Waay 31's will robinson-smith spoke with people about whether they want to be tested before returning to work he joins us live from big spring park with what they had to say.

People i spoke with say while more testing is important, they don't necessarily think it should be the job of employers to try and coordinate that.

As more people re-enter the workforce and resume a closer-to-normal pace of life, contractor cristin dickey says she isn't overly eager to go back to the office just yet.

Cristin dickey, contractor "when you're a contractor, usually you live in cube land and so everybody's a couple of feet away from each other.

So that's a little bit of a concern going back to work."

But while she and some others we spoke with say more testing in general would be a good thing, folks like army major david buckhannon think that asking employers to facilitate testing for non-symptomatic people is too much to ask.

Maj.

David buckhannon, u.s. army "that's a huge responsibility for employers to require to do something that a medical professional would probably do.

That's asking a lot of an employer."

And even if people wanted more testing on a continuous bases, there are a number of barriers to that happening.

According to a study by the college of american pathologists, nearly 70 percent of laboratory directors surveyed reported difficulty in acquiring test kits to conduct coronavirus testing.

66 percent of them said they found it difficult to find nasopharyngeal swabs.

In a press conference wednesday with mayor battle, dr. spillers said this kind of testing is inefficient and doesn't guarantee you won't get the virus after you go back to work.

Like spillers, folks we spoke with say they would rather see antibody testing for returning workers rather than diagnostic testing.

Cristin dickey, contractor i think that would be a little bit better because it could tell more of an accurate picture if you have it or not, or if you're a carrier for it.

Some employers and other workers i spoke with recently also say that the availability of tests is not at the top of their minds when it comes to reopening.

They're more focused on safety precautions for themselves and their customers.

Reporting live in huntsville, will robinson-smith, waay 31