Gov. Newsom announces increase in COVID-19 testing as Orange County awaits reopening guidelines
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday announced vastly expanded COVID-19 testing, set to roll out within the next eight to 10 weeks.
Newsom also said at his daily press conference that he would be announcing new guidelines for reopening some businesses on Friday, as Orange and San Diego counties are both off the state watch list and Los Angeles County is showing positive signs.
Newsom said the state has agreed to a partnership with diagnostic testing and imaging company PerkinElmer, which would build a new laboratory in California. Once it is completed by November, the state would be able to conduct about 150,000 additional COVID-19 tests per day, bringing the average to 250,000, which is more than double the current average of about 100,000 tests per day.
“We can bring down costs for everybody and improve reliability and access for everybody, in terms of getting tests and, more importantly, test results back in a timely manner,†Newsom said. “There’s an old song that says, ‘You continue to do what you’ve done, you’ll get what you’ve got.’ Right now we are facing the prospects of moving forward over the next couple of months, moving into flu season. Flu season, of course, puts tremendous stress and demand for testing ... So we’re moving now in a new direction.â€
Newsom said the $1.4-billion lab will be able get test results turned around within 48 hours, much less than the five to seven days people typically now wait for results. Additionally, he said the test prices would drastically be reduced from the current average of $150 to $200 for a PCR test.
Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, West Coast regional medical director for One Medical, said that establishing more testing before flu season hits is definitely ideal. She said medical professionals could be facing a “twin-demic,†where people might have the flu, COVID-19 or the common cold.
“Having testing being widespread, accessible and affordable for people is one of our key public health pillars in fighting this pandemic,†Bhuyan said. “If you think about the people of Orange County, I think just making sure that people have rapid access to testing with quick turnaround times is also critical.â€
O.C. Health Care Agency Director Dr. Clayton Chau estimated the Costa Mesa testing site would process about 500 tests per day before ramping up to around 1,000 daily tests by month’s end.
Orange County was removed from California’s coronavirus watch list on Sunday by the California Department of Public Health. If the county can keep metrics like hospitalizations, intensive care, ventilator capacity, positive test results and case rates low enough for 14 straight days, public school students could resume in-person classes at that time.
The Orange County Health Care Agency reported seven more deaths due to the coronavirus on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 918. There were 448 daily positive COVID-19 tests received, and the cumulative case total is now 47,090.
There were 5,649 tests reported Wednesday, and 611,144 tests to date. The percentage of positive tests was listed at 5.2% Wednesday, well below the 8% threshold.
Bhuyan said this was not the time to relax, however, echoing the words of Newsom in recent weeks.
“It’s good that things are trending in the right direction, but I still urge people to use caution,†she said. “I don’t want people to hear the news that we’re trending in the right direction, then throw caution to the wind. We still have to stay at home when we can, wear a mask when we go out, practice good hand hygiene, practice physical distancing and get tested when it’s appropriate. Really, when I think about it, these are things that we’re going to have to just keep doing until we get a vaccine.â€
The county also announced Tuesday that it would be retaining Dr. Clayton Chau as its director and county health care officer, positions he has held in a temporary role since June 8 following the resignation of Dr. Nichole Quick.
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