Quest Diagnostics said it improved its COVID-19 test turnaround time to one to two days, down from the two- to three-day turnaround it announced on Aug. 10.

The announcement by Quest comes amid backlash on the amount of time test results took. The delay in tests caused some people not to isolate in time, which critics of COVID-19 testing called useless, CNBC reported.

In response, Quest said its testing capabilities were overwhelmed by the number to tests being administered as coronavirus cases increased across the U.S.

Since that time, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new Quest laboratory process that allows the company to cut its test turnaround time.

“We have completed testing and reporting results of outstanding test specimens associated with the prior, recent surge,” Quest said in a statement. “We now have ample capacity to accommodate incoming orders.”

Quest said it has increased the number of tests it can perform to 150,000 a day. The company also said it will have the capacity to perform 185,000 COVID-19 tests a day by Labor Day with “further gains possible after that.”

The U.S. has reported more than 5.4 million positive cases of the coronavirus, with COVID-19 deaths approaching 171,000, Johns Hopkins University tracking data showed.

A health worker conducts a test at a COVID-19 coronavirus testing centre in the suburb of Northcote in Auckland
A health worker conducts a test at a COVID-19 coronavirus testing centre in the suburb of Northcote in Auckland AFP / DAVID ROWLAND
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