ANOTHER Testing Question

[teacherman]

We cruise on Saturday.  It is my understanding that we can test for Covid on Thursday.  We are using the monitored E-Med test.  Does it matter when on Thursday we test?  Could I do it as early as 6:00 am when I get up?  Or should it be later in the day?  Does the print out I will make from the E-Med site give a time, a date, or what does it give?  Our first time doing this test, as we usually do it at CVS, but they are now requiring us to do an actual clinic visit to get the test.

[hrhdhd]

It doesn't matter. Thursday anytime.

[Jim_Iain]

You can test any time after Midnight.     I did a test today 2:21 PM PDT and it reports UTC (previously called GMT or Zulu,  it doesn't take into consideration the time zone you are in.  

 

 

[KnoxvilleSam]

On 7/13/2022 at 9:06 PM, Jim_Iain said:

You can test any time after Midnight.     I did a test today 2:21 PM PDT and it reports UTC (previously called GMT or Zulu,  it doesn't take into consideration the time zone you are in.  

So … To make sure I understand, if I test at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 28 (a Thursday)  the result would be reported as if I tested at 12:30 a.m. UTC on July 29 (Friday). I didn’t realize that the test time was reported in terms of UTC. That’s an important distinction in my case. 

 

 

[Oklahoma Cruiser 2012]

On 7/13/2022 at 6:06 PM, Jim_Iain said:

You can test any time after Midnight.     I did a test today 2:21 PM PDT and it reports UTC (previously called GMT or Zulu,  it doesn't take into consideration the time zone you are in.  

 

 

Zulu time takes me back to my Army days.  

[KnoxvilleSam]

After submitting a question to eMed regarding how they report the time of the results of a test, they said their test results are always based on Eastern Standard Time, not UTC. Perhaps Jim_lain did not used eMed since he shows it as UTC time.

[DCPIV]

14 minutes ago, KnoxvilleSam said:

After submitting a question to eMed regarding how they report the time of the results of a test, they said their test results are always based on Eastern Standard Time, not UTC. Perhaps Jim_lain did not used eMed since he shows it as UTC time.

 

I went back and looked at one of my eMed results just for grins, and it shows as UTC.

[KnoxvilleSam]

Maybe the eMed reps (Samarah and William) didn’t know what their company actually does. Wouldn’t be the first time company “consumer advocates” don’t have a clue.

Edited July 17, 2022 by KnoxvilleSam
It was wrong.

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, KnoxvilleSam said:

After submitting a question to eMed regarding how they report the time of the results of a test, they said their test results are always based on Eastern Standard Time, not UTC. Perhaps Jim_lain did not used eMed since he shows it as UTC time.

I've tested multiple times with eMed, most recently in early June. What @Jim_Iain wrote was correct. The PDF result attached to the email is UTC.

[KnoxvilleSam]

So - my concern/question/situation is as follows.

 

In order to get our cruise on July 31, we are flying from Knoxville to Vancouver on July 29, flight at 5:40 a.m. (EDT). I’d rather test at home. To avoid testing at 12:05 a.m. on July 29 (we need SOME sleep before leaving for the airport at 4:30 a.m.), I’d rather test at home at 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. on July 28. If eMed does note that our test was on July 29 using UTC time, we are good to go. If eMed says that we tested on July 28, not so good. We CAN test when we get to Vancouver, but if the test is positive, I’d rather find that out in Knoxville than in Vancouver. I just wish eMed customer support would verify what people are telling me here about eMed using UTC time rather than my local time.

 

Thanks for your patience.

[luv2cruisemore]

18 minutes ago, KnoxvilleSam said:

So - my concern/question/situation is as follows.

 

In order to get our cruise on July 31, we are flying from Knoxville to Vancouver on July 29, flight at 5:40 a.m. (EDT). I’d rather test at home. To avoid testing at 12:05 a.m. on July 29 (we need SOME sleep before leaving for the airport at 4:30 a.m.), I’d rather test at home at 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. on July 28. If eMed does note that our test was on July 29 using UTC time, we are good to go. If eMed says that we tested on July 28, not so good. We CAN test when we get to Vancouver, but if the test is positive, I’d rather find that out in Knoxville than in Vancouver. I just wish eMed customer support would verify what people are telling me here about eMed using UTC time rather than my local time.

 

Thanks for your patience.

Why don’t you do one (at-home) self test before you leave for the airport to make sure you’re ok to fly and then do the official one when you get to Vancouver? You’re probably using the same test brand for both. Since we’re going to Vancouver three days early (we love that city), that is what we’ll do. We’re also taking some with us on the cruise. Make sure you’ve gotten your Government free allocation or at drug store using your insurance.

[KnoxvilleSam]

Good advice.

[RichYak]

4 hours ago, KnoxvilleSam said:

I just wish eMed customer support would verify what people are telling me here about eMed using UTC time rather than my local time.

What more do you need than the following? This test was taken around 8am EDT. My flight to the US departed at 11:13am EDT.

Edited July 18, 2022 by RichYak

[KnoxvilleSam]

Persistence pays off. Contrary to the first two answers I got from eMed customer support, I got an email this morning saying that yes, their results are always reported in UTC. He apologized for the first two inaccurate answers and any inconvenience it might have caused.

 

BTW, it may be the case that my mention that others on Cruise Critic had posted pictures of their test results showing UTC that sealed the deal. 
 

Thanks to all of you.