Weve been bending over backward to report, he said.

Bruckel said Total Access Urgent Care recently changed lab companies for COVID-19 tests after a national lab, Quest Diagnostics, was sometimes taking more than 14 days to turn around results.

The company changed its primary lab company a few weeks ago and, Bruckel said, patients are now typically getting results within two to three days.

Page said the county is also working to improve its own processes by hiring three new employees to help the county notify patients of results more quickly and has been helping the state with its data entry in their antiquated system, he said.

Missouri has reported 44,823 confirmed cases and 1,213 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

On Tuesday, Missouri ranked 15th in the U.S. for the rate of new cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days, according to an analysis by the New York Times. Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi topped the list, and Illinois, which includes St. Louis suburbs, ranked 32nd with 78 cases per 100,000 people, compared with 143 in Missouri.

The states rate of new cases on Tuesday prompted Chicago to add Missouri to its list of 22 states with travel restrictions. Beginning Friday, Chicago will require people traveling from Missouri to quarantine for two weeks, except for essential workers who must travel over state lines. Those who do not follow the order could face fines, according to Chicago officials.

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Missouri tops COVID-19 high for 9th time this month as St. Louis Co. calls out urgent care for testing delays - STLtoday.com