Marin County Bolsters COVID-19 Testing Amid Surging Cases In CA

MARIN COUNTY, CA — Those who were used to the ease of the drive-up coronavirus testing site at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael may have been disappointed when it closed Nov. 13. But county officials have bolstered testing at another site just two miles away.

LHI.Care began offering an additional 200 tests per day Monday, whereas the site at Marin Center was offering 120 tests daily. LHI.Care offers a multitude of COVID-19 tests at locations statewide with many same-day appointments.

The site at the Marin Center was operated by the Burlingame-based health company Color Genomics, but the county's $1.6 million contracts with the company expired on Nov. 13.

"I know a lot of people who had utilized Color [Genomics] in the past they see this as a loss, which technically you can't go to Marin Center and get tested anymore but if you're willing to go about two miles south we have greater testing capacity now," said Laine Hendricks, public information officer for Marin County.

Although Color Genomics no longer has a testing site in the area, the county is still collaborating with the company to use its labs for mobile test processing sites throughout Marin, Hendricks said.

"By using the Color laboratory for those efforts we're able to ensure a quick turnaround time on those test results, which is crucial if we're dealing with an outbreak situation," Henricks said.

As cases across California and the Bay Area began to surge in November, so did the need for testing. As the closure of the Color Genomics testing site drew near, Marin County officials went to the state for help.

"We went to the state and said 'would you entertain adding another lane by doubling [our testing] capacity?'" Hendricks said.

READ MORE: California Coronavirus Hospitalizations Explode By 81%

According to Hendricks, Marin County has had one of the highest testing rates in California.

"Based on these conversations my impression was that the state said it was okay...because they knew they wouldn't be bringing more personnel or test kits to Marin for them to sit on a shelf," Hendricks said.

And while LHI and the county have expanded daily appointment availability in Marin and places like CVS Pharmacy continue offering testing options, county health officials are recommending that residents get tested through their health care providers to ensure availability.

To register for an appointment at LHI.Care visit their registration website here.

Marin County reported a total of 5,382 cases and 5,040 documented recoveries. There were 187 hospitalized for COVID-19 and 185,795 total tests administered, with 1,315 tests added Tuesday.

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