Thousands of COVID test kits coming to Stanislaus County. Here’s how you can get them
State and county health agencies are deploying home test kits as the omicron variant is fast becoming the dominant strain of the coronavirus pandemic.
Stanislaus County received a first batch of 22,680 test kits from the state Wednesday.
More are expected to arrive next week, said Kamlesh Kaur, a county health services spokeswoman, who didn’t have the exact number of home tests being allocated to the county.
Testing capabilities have been a concern as the supply of coronavirus test kits has disappeared in stores and stationary testing sites try to keep up with demand.
The rapid antigen tests were one of the measures announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday for slowing down the highly contagious omicron strain that was identified in South Africa in November.
Newsom said the state will send out 6 million kits for home testing of students in K-12 public schools as they return from the holiday break in January.
Speaking at a health center in Alameda County, Newsom said logistics are being worked out with local education and other partners for distributing the test kits to families.
Newsom said the state needs to keep schools open as it continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The antigen tests will give parents a tool for quickly screening their children if needed, as opposed to serving as a requirement for children to return to school.
The home testing, providing results in less than 30 minutes, is not as accurate as the standard PCR tests for the general public, but can be useful for someone who has symptoms or was exposed to a person infected with COVID-19.
“Especially if they have symptoms, we hope they can self-screen and decide if it is safe for them to visit family or attend a gathering,” Kaur said. “We hope they take this as another precautionary measure in stopping the spread of COVID-19.”
Kaur said the county will give the test kits to residents through the county’s Community Services Agency, WIC program sites in Modesto, Ceres, Turlock and Patterson, family resource centers and county library branches.
The county planned to start delivering the test kits Thursday. County offices are closed Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the Christmas holiday, but distribution will resume next week, Kaur said.
The county hopes the home testing can make a difference in communities that have been stricken hard by the coronavirus.
State health officials assume the variant is spreading in counties like Stanislaus that have not confirmed a single case of omicron through the genomic sequencing process.
Newsom said the state has formally confirmed about 200 cases of omicron infection, a process that involves a genetic lab analysis to identify the variant. But other tracking methods suggest that more than 50% of new coronavirus cases in California are caused by omicron, the governor said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported that 73 percent of new COVID-19 cases in the nation are attributed to omicron.
“We are encouraging our community members to be aware of the presence of omicron throughout the state,” Kaur said. “As people are traveling to different areas or out of state, we are hoping they take the same protective measures they have taken against COVID-19.”
Other state measures for slowing omicron
In addition to the home testing for schoolchildren, Newsom announced two other measures for combating the omicron variant.
The state is making a COVID vaccine booster shot mandatory for health care workers and employees of long-term care facilities by Feb. 1. COVID testing twice a week will be required until employees are up-to-date on vaccinations.
Part of the reason omicron is perceived as a threat is waning immunity that occurs six months after the initial COVID vaccination is completed.
Newsom said the coronavirus vaccines protect the healthcare workforce and are a strategy for preventing staffing shortages as hospitals take in more patients.
The state also plans to expand operating hours at state-sponsored COVID testing sites that are reaching their capacity. In Stanislaus County, testing sites including the Salida library drive-through, the Ceres Unified School District office and the Rube Boesch Center in Turlock are operating from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
People are getting a positive or negative test result from those sites in two to four days. It’s not known yet if hours will expand at those locations.
Testing is also provided at drugstores such as CVS and Rite Aid, heath care providers and community clinics.
The state also has a face mask requirement for everyone in public indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status.
Boosters required for college students
The California State University system announced Tuesday a requirement for students and staff who use campus facilities to get a booster vaccination before Feb. 28. The CSU system, including Stanislaus State University in Turlock, is following suit with University of California campuses that are requiring proof of booster shots by Jan. 31.
The CSU mandate will apply to college students who completed the first round of COVID vaccination more than six months ago.
“Vaccination, including a booster when eligible, remains our most effective strategy against infection and severe disease,” CSU Chancellor Joseph Castro said.
The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency has information about COVID-19 testing services and making an appointment for testing at www.schsa.org.
This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 7:52 AM.
