Santa Clara County Increases COVID-19 Testing Rate To 9,000 / Day After Reaching 1 Million Test Mark
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – Health officials in Santa Clara County announced Friday that it has further increased its average testing rate, while announcing several testing availabilities throughout the county next week.
Officials said the number of tests being administered has grown by about 1,000 per day in the past two weeks, up to 9,000 per day.
Earlier this week, the county announced it had conducted 1 million tests since the start of the pandemic. Officials credit the increased availability of testing for sharply bringing the rate of new cases down in recent months.
The county's rate of new cases per day per 100,000 residents has dropped from 8.6 in late August to 3.4 in late October.
"We continue to encourage anyone who wants to get a COVID-19 test to go to any public testing site or call their health care provider if they fit into a category that must be granted free testing on demand," said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, the county's testing officer.
The county said it plans to offer appointment-only testing at sites in Los Altos Hills, Morgan Hill, Saratoga, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale next week, with slots available up to seven days in advance. Meanwhile, COVID-19 testing appointments will be available Fairgrounds in San Jose up to five days in advance.
Test appointments can be made by visiting http://www.sccfreetest.org.
County health officials are also planning pop-up testing sites where no appointment is necessary at Emmanuel Baptist Church in San Jose and the South County Annex in Gilroy. Testing will be available from November 10-13 from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The county's test sites are free of charge, regardless of one's immigration status, and no doctor's note is needed, officials said.
