SHELBYVILLE, Ky. — Shelbyville Hospital is reducing the wait time for receiving COVID-19 results thanks to new lab equipment. Starting next week, patients will know in less than a hour instead of several days.

Jason Niceley, lab director at UofL Health said the change will be invaluable.

“If you know you are positive [sooner], you can change your lifestyle and activities and prevent the spread," Niceley said.

Niceley said he's elated that the testing equipment is coming to Shelbyville Hospital. He said the old way of doing things needed to revamped.

“We would transit those specimens to UofL Health in Louisville three times a day. So if you came in at 8am we would send out your sample to U of L with our 9am courier and hopefully by 9am the next day you would have your results," he said.

But now the wait time will be around 45 minutes for the PCR nasal swab test.

“This is a rapid PCR test so you kind of want throw the word rapid to the side and look at your antigen test. So the PCR test we are actually testing for the genetic material," Niceley said.

And some more good news — the number of flu cases has also dropped dramatically at Shelbyville Hospital.

“Maybe the transmission has been interfered with right now. The public gatherings for one thing you don’t have 20,000 people at Rupp Arena going to a basketball game anymore and transmitting the flu to one another, our lifestyles have changed.”

Testing is done by appointment only at Shelbyville Hospital.