Reopening: New COVID-19 Testing Sites Opening In Alameda, Santa Clara County
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- As researchers at the Harvard Global Health Institute are calling for a dramatic increase in COVID-19 testing in California, health officials in Alameda and Santa Clara County have announced they will be opening new testing sites this week.
Alameda city officials say they are planning to open a new site in partnership with CityHealth Urgent Care on Wednesday.
The new testing site will provide free testing to anyone with health insurance or a government issued ID, including children and people
with special needs, regardless of symptoms. The testing site will have the capacity to test 500 people per day, and will return the results of the test within 15 minutes.
It will be located at The Research Park at Marina Village, at 300 Wind River Way, and will be open seven days per week from 9 a.m. to 5
p.m. Appointments for testing are encouraged but not required, and can be made at https://bayareacovid19testing.com/.
Meanwhile, Santa Clara County officials have announced that two additional pop-up COVID-19 testing sites will open next week in San Jose and another will be open in Gilroy.
The three sites will offer tests free of charge, without an appointment, symptoms, insurance, or a doctor's note, and regardless of
immigration status, according to the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.
The goal is to increase the overall number of tests, especially in communities that have been hit hard by COVID-19.
"The test is easy and painless," said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the County's COVID-19 Testing Officer. "All are welcome at our County government test sites. And if you have insurance, you can also ask your regular provider for a test if that's more convenient for you: they are required to test you."
Testing is encouraged for asymptomatic residents who are at higher risk because they work in frontline settings or because they've had
significant interaction with members of the public, such as grocery store clerks, construction workers, retail associates and first responders, according to the county.
In addition, testing is recommended for residents who regularly ride public transit or have recently attended a gathering where masks or
social distancing were not observed.
There are more than 50 COVID-19 test locations in Santa Clara County, including those at community centers and schools, hospitals and
clinics, and mobile testing centers.
The three new pop-up sites next week are:
- County of Santa Clara Service Center Auditorium, 1555 Berger Drive in San Jose, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday to Thursday
- San Jose High School Cafeteria, 275 N. 24th Street in San Jose, from 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 pm. Saturday
- South County Annex (formerly Antonio Del Buono Elementary), 9300 Wren Avenue in Gilroy from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday through Friday
