Coronavirus testing begins at Stanislaus County site. It could serve 500 per week
Stanislaus County launched a new site Monday that expands testing for people with symptoms of COVID-19 disease.
The community-based testing site at the Salida library on Sisk Road is initially for individuals with a heightened risk of getting a severe case of the coronavirus respiratory illness.
Officials also hope expanded testing will provide a clearer picture of how the coronavirus is impacting Modesto and other cities in the county.
The program began screening residents at noon Saturday. By Sunday, all of the Monday appointments were scheduled and half of the slots were filled for Tuesday, said Melba Hibbard, emergency services coordinator for the county.
The county Office of Emergency Services and the Health Services Agency were operating the testing in collaboration with Verily’s Baseline COVID-19 Program.
The free drive-through testing by appointment is Monday through Friday with the pace set at 16 cars an hour, 100 people per day, and 500 per week. Participants get their test results within 48 hours.
Hibbard said the tests are for people who have the coronavirus symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath. The screening and appointments are done through an online process.
The testing program will run for “as long as it takes,” Hibbard said.
The new testing opportunity could result in a spike in the county’s COVID-19 confirmed caseload within a few days, county staff said. As of noon Monday, the county had 226 confirmed cases and four deaths, but local health experts believe the true number of infections in the community is higher.
Michael Abbott of Modesto, who pulled into the site, said he had worked at a prison and was grateful for the chance to get tested.
“I’ve had a fever and cough for three weeks,” Abbott said after lowering his driver-side window. “I have been sheltering in place. It’s pretty great I can now get tested.”
The Modesto resident added that all he can do now is sit and home and wait for the results.
Flip cards direct drivers at Salida site
Vehicles pulling into the library parking lot were greeted by workers holding flip cards, which told the drivers to keep the windows up and gave them directions.
The drivers were directed to a station staffed by nurses fully covered in protective gear. When the driver opened the window, a sample was taken using a swab.
Two nurses from Doctors Medical Center were taking the specimens. The testing site was making an effort to collect good specimens, Hibbard assured, following reports that 30 percent of negative coronavirus tests may be false.
A lack of testing, mostly blamed on a shortage of testing supplies, has kept Stanislaus County in the dark about the level of coronavirus transmission locally.
The county’s case numbers were low in March and the first week of April, and then an upsurge in residents testing positive raised some concern. The level of disease in the community could influence the timing of local government decisions to relax business closures and stay-at-home orders.
The county Health Services Agency also moved its contact tracing team to a community area of the Salida library. The 35 staff members were not interacting with the residents who arrived for testing outside the building. But positive test results will be reported to the public health team members, who will contact the individuals.
Hillary Booth, a senior epidemiologist, said staff members talk to residents who have tested positive to identify other people they’ve been in contact with.
The Salida testing site handled a steady flow of arrivals for the first hour Monday and then it slowed down in the second hour.
Most people seemed to understand it was by appointment. Only a few people arrived as though it was drive-up service, county staff said.
This story was originally published April 20, 2020 at 5:04 PM.
