Coronavirus Update: No Trace Of Coronavirus Found During Mass Testing Of Bolinas Residents
BOLINAS (CBS SF) -- Apparently, even the coronavirus has a hard time finding its way to Bolinas.
Marin County health officials announced Tuesday evening that a study that involved testing all the residents of the notoriously recluse coastal community has revealed no evidence of COVID-19 among the town's residents.
"It's a relief," Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County's chief public health officer, told the Marin IJ. "This is a sign to me that we really did get in front of this and interrupt transmission."
Digital multimillionaires Cyrus Harmon and Jyri Engestrom teamed up to fund a study in the community known for posting signs warning visitors to stay away and knocking down Highway 1 destination signs.
The study was a partnership with University of California, San Francisco, which analyzed the samples and returned results in 72 hours.
Bolinas residents were required to make an appointment online, then drive to a drive-through testing facility where hospital specialists swabbed their throat and nose, then took blood samples from fingertip pricks.
Folks in Bolinas are still very concerned about the virus. Signs at the entrance to town say things like, "Bolinas Closed to Visitors" and "Surfers Stay Home, Save Lives." One of the signs gets straight to the point: "Turn around. If you are not from here, don't come here!"
Bolinas resident Marc Sanchez-Corea says people here were surprised when they heard it was all free.
"There was a lot of suspicion, of course, because people with a lot of money here are not really usually part of the community, they just come and use their houses, their third or fourth house, but these people really seem to care about their community," said Sanchez-Corea.
There have been no confirmed cases in Bolinas since the Marin outbreak began in early March. As of Tuesday, Marin County has had 226 confirmed cases of the disease and 12 deaths.
