As the latest COVID variant sweeps across South Florida, pop-up testing sites are opening up too.
One woman called NBC 6 Responds after she says an error resulted in her getting test results without ever taking a test.
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Roxana De La Hoz says when she saw a pop up testing site on NE 29th Street in Midtown Miami, she thought it would be a quick way to get test results before her upcoming flight.
“I didn’t need the test to fly to Panama, but I thought it was good to do it,” De La Hoz said.
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She says she snapped a photo of the registration QR code, then went to her boyfriend’s house to register and make an appointment.
“I told him this is not the confirmation of the registration this is the test result. It says you already have your test results, click here, and the result was negative,” De La Hoz said.
She said after registering, she received an email with test results for a test she never took. The results showed as being negative.
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“My concern, number one, was is there are a lot of people getting the test and getting negatives that are false negatives,” her boyfriend Ricardo Rojas said.
NBC 6 Responds reached out to Empire City Laboratories, which is the company listed on De La Hoz’s test result.
NBC 6 also reached out to the company staffing the pop-up site, EZ Covid Testing.
In an email, an Empire City Laboratories representative told us they have “concluded that one of "EZ Covid Testing" site employees has likely sent a result to an improper patient on their list.”
They went on to say this can happen due to “Identical patient names, human error, OR software error.” After NBC 6 reached out, they say they are now “adding a "pop up message" for sites such as EZ Covid Testing, and their employees” so they can “see the name again prior to finalizing the result.”
The couple says they hope by speaking out they will bring attention to the need for additional safeguards at all testing locations.
“Because of the holidays, if you get a negative test that is not a proven negative you are going to be putting a lot of people at risk, especially on these holidays,” Rojas said.
NBC 6 Responds is still waiting to hear back from EZ Covid testing regarding our inquiry.
