Contra Costa County to Expand COVID-19 Testing Capacity, Open 2 New Testing Centers

With laboratories overwhelmed by a growing volume of COVID-19 testing that is creating "significant delays" in test result returns, Contra Costa Health Services is beefing up its lab capacity and opening two new testing centers this week in West County, health officials said Tuesday.

The move comes as community spread of the coronavirus continues, especially in Contra Costa County's communities of color, according to Dr. Erika Jenssen of Contra Costa Health Services.

Jenssen and Dr. Chris Farnitano, Contra Costa's health officer, spoke Tuesday to the county Board of Supervisors. Farnitano said high testing volumes have resulted in delays in getting test results to the public, in some cases as long as three weeks. That, he said, limits the very usefulness of those tests.

To add to the county's testing capability, the county's own two lab facilities will get additional equipment to allow for processing hundreds of test samples a day with a one-to two-day turnaround time, Farnitano said.

That added capacity, Farnitano told the supervisors, is primarily for "highest-risk populations" including seniors and front-line emergency workers.

Contra Costa County is also looking to other labs, including state-run facilities in Richmond and Hayward, for help with processing test samples.

Additionally, two new testing centers — at the county's North Richmond Center for Health and at the Richmond Civic Center — should be up and running this week, Jenssen said.

— Bay City News