COVID-19 testing lab expands hours into Saturdays after reported drop in patients, despite “high” community spread

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - Southern Nevada Health District continues to categorize Clark County in the “high” level for community spread. Amid a reported drop in patients, a local COVID-19 testing lab is hoping to reach more people by expanding their hours into Saturdays.

You can now visit MDX Labs Mondays through Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at their drive-through locations located at 3571 E Sunset Road and 2000 S. Jones Boulevard.

Why are they extending hours?

Leaders with MDX said that a lot has changed in recent months, affecting the demand they are seeing for testing with their lab. Jason Saylor, a business development executive with MDX, said that this a combined result of recent legislative changes to reimbursements of uninsured people and rapid at-home tests becoming more widely accessible.

“We did see a drop in the numbers,” said Saylor. “Due to the governmental changes with HRSA no longer paying for those that are uninsured, so they’re less likely to go out and get a test now that they go, ‘Hey I have to go pay for it somewhere,’ or ‘I have to go find someplace to get a free test.’”

He added, “We just want to be able to-- for everyone to have access to COVID-19 testing. And we have added Saturdays at our Sunset location and also our Jones location.”

MDX Labs offers COVID-19 testing for insured patients at no out-of-pocket cost.

Health officials believe the dominant BA.5 subvariant is the most easily transmissible variant of the virus to date.

MDX labs now offers both saliva testing and nasal swabs, and its lab scientists told us their tests provide a higher level of accuracy than the at-home rapid tests.

Nevada health response said the state average for daily COVID-19 infections is sitting just under 1,000. That’s down slightly from this time last month, but a significant uptick from April and May.