Laboratories that are already strained beyond their capacity to process coronavirus tests will soon be inundated as students and faculty return to college campuses.

All these variables could further reduce the ability of private laboratories to test for COVID-19 in a timely fashion.

The number of new COVID-19 cases shot up by 20% per week over the past month. Hospitalizations for people being treated with the disease is heading back to the record peak set in April.

The American Clinical Laboratory Association issued a statement last week saying “In light of the ongoing spread of COVID-19 in states across the country, many labs are now receiving more test orders that they are able to process in a single day.”

According to Axios, Quest Diagnostics, one of the largest testing companies, expects the demand for tests to soar, and its CEO Steve Rusckowski acknowledges that universities, in particular, will require a lot of testing. Rusckowski said that despite the anticipated demand, he expects Quest will be able to process the results in a timely fashion and get back to “acceptable levels that we’ve had in the past.”

Experts say that quick turnaround for COVID-19 test results is important. A study published in The Lancet said a delay of only three days makes it nearly impossible to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“Every day they wait is another day of quarantine, or if they’re not, it’s another day they could be infecting other people,” said Dr. Keith Jerome, of the University of Washington School of Medicine, according to NBC News.