RivCo Awaits Newsom's New Coronavirus Guidelines

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom will unveil new coronavirus guidelines for businesses and industry sectors that could impact Riverside County.

The governor made the announcement during a Wednesday briefing, where he also detailed a new plan to increase COVID-19 diagnostic testing ahead of flu season, when demand for screening is expected to increase exponentially. The governor said any loosening of coronavirus restrictions must be "predicated" on the state's ability to test more frequently, less expensively, and with a faster turnaround time, especially with flu season ahead.

Riverside County is poised to be impacted by Friday's announcement. At the very least, the governor is expected to provide guidance to counties that have fallen off the state's coronavirus "monitoring list." Riverside County remains on the list due to its case and positivity rates, but is very close to coming off. The watch list tracks all counties, and red flags those that are not meeting state thresholds.

On Wednesday, the state data showed Riverside County's COVID-19 positivity rate was trending at 9 percent — just one percentage point above the state threshold. The county's case rate was 150.6 positive cases per 100,000 people tested over the last 14 days. The state threshold is 100 cases or less per 100,000.

Riverside County Public Health Officer Dr. Cameron Kaiser told the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that he is "cautiously optimistic that we are making progress on our COVID-19 case rate, and our positivity rate continues to decline steadily."

Coronavirus testing in Riverside County and across the state is expected to increase when flu season hits, as people experience symptoms that are common to both viruses. Currently, the state is testing approximately 100,000 Californians per day. The turnaround time is between five and seven days, which the governor said is too long.

Under an agreement reached with Massachusetts-based PerkinElmer, the company will build out a new California-based laboratory with a full supply chain to allow for greater testing at a decreased cost and with a much faster turnaround, according to the governor.

The plan will give the state the capacity to test an additional 150,000 Californians per day with a 24-48 hour turnaround, Newsom said.

"We have provisions in the contract to guarantee that turnaround time," Newsom said. "We'll be able to make decisions to reopen schools and more businesses with a more efficient turnaround time ... . If we’re going to sustainably reopen, we need increased testing capacity, and we need sufficient turnaround time."

The cost per test will come down from the current $150 to $200 per diagnostic test to as low as $30.78 per test. The company has agreed to bulk pricing, with the most expensive per-test rate of $47.99, according to the governor, who said the federal government should have taken steps to ensure testing could be done less expensively with a faster turnaround.

The testing will also feature the ability to screen for influenza at no additional cost to the state, the governor said.

Although testing is being offered free to Riverside County residents who opt to utilize county- or state-operated testing sites, taxpayers are footing the bill.

Newsom said California is aiming to "disrupt the market."

California Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa), who also chairs the state's Health Committee, worked on the PerkinElmer agreement and said, "This is a game-changer for us."

On Wednesday, Riverside University Health System reported 338 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases and six additional deaths, bringing the countywide totals to 51,538 cases and 984 deaths.

COVID-19 hospitalizations stood at 222, with 79 of those patients in ICU. The figures are unchanged since Tuesday's reporting.