Watsonville Coronavirus Testing Site Plans Announced

WATSONVILLE, CA — A testing site for the new coronavirus is expected to open within a week at Ramsay Park.

Santa Cruz County and Monterey County residents would be eligible for testing, City Manager Matt Huffaker told the Watsonville City Council during Tuesday's meeting. The site will increase testing capacity, said county spokesperson Jason Hoppin.

Watsonville's proximity to Monterey County made it a good candidate for a testing site, Huffaker said.

Watsonville Community Hospital was the first choice, but that wasn't feasible because the site didn't have all of the features necessary to accommodate a testing site, Huffaker said. All testing sites must meet requirements such as having one entrance and exit, plenty of space for cars and a physical building.

It's unclear how fast the testing turnaround time will be at the site, though Huffaker said some patients are seeing same-day turnaround. That timeline might look different at a larger testing site, he said.

This will be the lone such testing site in South County, but Huffaker said he wasn't sure if there would be others in North County.

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Correction: A previous version of this report misstated that the testing site would be a drive-thru.