Coronavirus Update: Napa And Contra Costa Offer COVID-19 Testing For All Adults, Regardless Of Symptoms
NAPA (CBS SF) -- Health officials in Napa and Contra Costa counties have begun offering coronavirus testing to all adults that live or work in the county, regardless of symptoms.
Naps County Health and Human Services announced the update to the county's COVID-19 testing process Wednesday.
County officials said the testing confirms whether an individual actively has COVID-19 and may be spreading the virus without symptoms. The test is not an anti-body test, which tells whether one has have previously carried the virus.
The county said the new testing procedure is a major expansion of local community testing in collaboration with Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) and the Verily life sciences research organization, as recently announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom
Testing for any Napa County resident or member of the community workforce 18 or older is available by appointment Mondays through Saturdays. , whether or not symptoms are present. To complete an online assessment and register for a drive-through testing appointment, visit: countyofnapa.org/2776/COVID-19-Testing
In addition, appointments may also be made by calling bilingual staff at the county's information line at (707) 253-4540, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Registration by phone is encouraged for residents who are:
- Under 18 years of age
- Received a rejection notification from the online screen process
- Requesting testing for 1+ members (with children) in your household
The testing site is a drive-through site and not available for walk-ins, individuals will be asked to provide their appointment confirmation information upon arrival.
County residents and workers who are showing symptoms, and are Kaiser members, should contact Kaiser Permanente for testing before going through the County/Core/Verily testing process. Kaiser members may call their advice nurse line at (707) 651-1025 or go to Kaiser online to schedule an appointment.
More information on Napa County's COVID-19 testing may be found on the county website.
Contra Costa County health officials made a similar announcement on Thursday. The county will now offer an appointment for COVID-19 testing to any resident who believes they need one, regardless of insurance, ability to pay or whether they have symptoms or not.
Residents can make an appointment to visit any of the eight sites currently operating throughout the county. The county is running five drive-through testing sites, while the state provides walk-up testing locations at three additional locations. Testing is available by appointment only. Call 1-844-421-0804 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily for an appointment at any Contra Costa site.
"We need to test many more county residents to get a better sense of how widespread COVID-19 is in our community, and to help prevent its spread," said Candace Andersen, chair of the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors. "Testing will also give us a better idea of when we can relax the current health orders."
Between 300 and 400 patients are currently being tested daily in the county. Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) hopes to test about five times as many people.
There is no up-front cost for testing. Contra Costa County residents aren't required to have medical insurance to get tested. However, if you have health insurance, your insurance will be billed.
More information on the testing sites is available on the Contra Costa County Health website.
