The plane gets on, where are your test results?

Christine Yi hoped the test results would arrive by the time the doors to the boarding gate of her flight closed.

Ms. Yi, 45, a content creator in New York, attempted a flight to Grand Cayman, Caribbean, over the Christmas holiday weekend with boyfriend James Tracey, 47, the chef at Isabelle & # 39; s Osteria, a restaurant in New York's Gramercy Neighborhood.

The Cayman Islands require proof of a negative Covid test to enter the country, which was carried out within 24 hours of departure. Mrs. Yi and Mr. Tracey had P.C.R. Tests by N.Y.U. Langone Medical Center one day before her departure on December 24th. She received her negative test result on the evening of the 23rd. Mr. Tracey's test was negative too – after 34 hours, a missed flight, $ 150 exchange fees, a two-hour wait for two rapid antigen tests and a return trip to John F. Kennedy International Airport.

"It was definitely a memorable start to our trip," said Ms. Yi.

Frequent testing, combined with vaccines and masking, has been repeatedly cited as the key to a holiday season closer to the "normality" of prepandemic times. But for international travelers who need tests to enter their destination, getting tested early is easier said than done. Finding a test has become more and more difficult – appointments are booked and there are often hours of waiting on accessible pages. And even if you can take a test, there is still no guarantee that your results will come back in time for boarding.

To make matters worse, the requirements for international travel are constantly changing, with test periods often being a moving target. In recent weeks, some locations have shortened the window of time for valid test results, including the Cayman Islands – previously a negative P.C.R. Test within 72 hours was sufficient for entry.

Tests have been a recurring pain point throughout the pandemic, from limited availability and turnaround times, which could extend to a week in Spring 2020, to the lack of home testing during the delta surge last summer. But the double blow of the highly contagious Omicron variant and the holiday season have created tremendous demand for tests that the US, by and large, was not prepared for. For some travelers, this means that the best plans, and even backup plans, can fail.

"We now have as much test volume as we did in the big wave we saw last Christmas season," said Alicia Zhou, chief science officer of Color, a health technology company in Burlingame, California that has worked with test sites around California . Color guarantees that P.C.R. Results will be processed within 48 hours or less; According to Dr. Zhou will return most results within 24 hours or less. The tests are free to the end user. They've been able to maintain that turnaround time in the recent surge, largely because they didn't roll back operations when the demand for testing declined in mid-2021, said Dr. Zhou.

"It felt like it wasn't time to step on the gas," said Dr. Zhou. "Omicron snuck up on us, but it also came from Delta at the end."

The demand for Food and Drug Administration-approved home tests like iHealth and BinaxNow has also skyrocketed as pharmacies are largely sold out and shipping is significantly delayed. If not supervised by a doctor, these tests will not be enough for international travel, but they will provide peace of mind for family gatherings.

"We're seeing unprecedented demand for BinaxNOW and shipping it asap," said a spokesman for Abbott, the company that makes BinaxNow.

Updated

Dec. 31, 2021 at 8:20 a.m. ET

The uncertainty leads some people to hedge their bets and set up multiple tests in case one doesn't get through in time. All Pierce, a Palm Springs, California-based travel advisor and founder of Gals Abroad Getaways, recommended setting up an initial testing appointment with a family doctor and creating a backup plan that could include a second appointment or an extension to a walk-in clinic, to which Ms. Yi and Mr. Tracey were forced at the last minute in case those results don't come back in time.

If you find a website that offers quick turnaround, "expect to pay more," said Ms. Pierce.

Dr. Zhou understood the need for this strategy, but encouraged you to immediately cancel any additional testing appointments once you received your results.

"Try to make sure you don't overbook and then don't show up on these dates," she said. "This leads to a lower availability for appointments for others."

The Coronavirus Pandemic: Important Things You Should Know

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Canceled flights. With the rise in Covid, there have been thousands of flight cancellations as airlines cannot adequately staff their flights. In search of relief, the aviation industry urged the CDC to reduce the recommended isolation time for Americans infected with Covid-19. On Monday, the recommended quarantine time for people without symptoms was reduced to five days.

Around the world. South Africa announced that its Omicron wave had passed without a large spike in deaths. The number of cases in the country has fallen by 30 percent in the past week. The announcement offered cautious hope to other countries grappling with the rapidly expanding variant.

Percia Safar, 31, a Los Angeles investor, paid $ 670 for two rapid antigen tests and a series of home tests in advance of an international trip. Her process was made even more complicated by possible exposure to Covid 10 days before she was supposed to fly. In addition to the daily home self-test and an antigen test five days after exposure, she was required to have either a P.C.R. Test within 72 hours of your departure or a rapid antigen test within 24 hours. She said it was almost impossible to find a site that P.C.R. Tests that guaranteed results within their window – their local CVS pharmacy cited a two to four day turnaround time.

A CVS spokesman said in a statement that the company "will continue to meet demand for Covid-19 tests even as more patients seek tests." He added that results are usually available within a day or two, but "may take longer due to local surges in Covid-19 cases".

"I think I can get some of this covered by insurance," said Ms. Safar. “And of course it was a privilege to be able to pay out of pocket. But it's a lot. I can't believe the costs will fall on us. "

In fact, being able to pay more for a test may seem like the only way to avoid long waiting times and slow turnaround times. Jack Ezon, the founder and managing partner of EMBARK Beyond, a travel consultancy targeting high net worth individuals, said its clients have not experienced any delays or disruptions due to the current test run.

“Our customers will have a concierge doctor come to their home to provide a P.C.R. or go to an express lab, ”he said. "We don't care too much about these issues, but our customers are willing to spend four or five times the price just to get the service."