48% of doctors say that COVID-19 test results are, on average, ready within 1-2 days, according to a survey by the RNC Pharma analyst company and the Doktor Na Rabote (Doctor at Work) social media service for doctors. Some even say the tests can be ready as soon as in “less than 6 hours”, which is a very promising result for mass testing. The survey did not find out any statistically significant differences between Moscow / St. Petersburg and other regions of Russia, although the situation in general is much better in the capital regions, with around 58% of the respondents choosing “maximum 1-2 days.”

At the same time, 47% of the study participants say they have to wait for the results of the PCR test for 4 days or more. 21% of them noted that the wait time does not exceed 4-5 days, 10% – at least a week, and another 12% – more than a week. Accordingly, the morbidity figures, which are publicly announced on a daily basis, lag behind the real picture in health care facilities by at least a few days.

Only about 4% of the respondents spoke about waiting periods that exceeded 1.5 weeks. However, the respondents also noted another problem, when sometimes the tests are not carried out or are not carried out for everyone even if there are clinical features of COVID-19.

What is the average time a PCR COVID-19 test to be ready at your health facility? (single-answer question)