UC Davis saliva virus test coming to Woodland

A novel test for the coronavirus developed at UC Davis will soon be used by the city of Woodland to provide greater protection to its personnel and could also be used on the population as a whole.

Additionally, during an update on the coronavirus provided to the City Council during a Tuesday night Zoom meeting, City Manager Ken Hiatt said checks will soon be going out to around 50 businesses suffering economic hardship.

UC Davis medical staff developed the fast and low- cost saliva test that can accurately detect the virus in 20 minutes. That’s critical because the faster people know who is infected, the faster they can be isolated and stop spreading the disease.

The test has been used mostly for emergency room patients over the past few months. But it recently expanded to students and staff at UCD and was recently made available to Davis residents as well, according to Hiatt.

The tests are also cheap, costing between $ 4 and $ 6 each. Other types of tests can cost $ 30 or more.

That could come in handy considering the latest surge in cases. Countywide, as of Tuesday evening, there were 6,377 coronavirus cases, an increase of 110 from the day prior. There were also nine more deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 98 since the outbreak of the pandemic in March. There have been 4,335 people who have recovered from the disease.

In Woodland, there have been 2,577 cases since March with 50 new cases coming in 24 hours. Citywide, there have been 59 deaths with five of those occurring between Monday and Tuesday.

Dr. Aimee Sisson, Yolo County’s public health director, told supervisors Tuesday that one of the two hospitals in the county has paused inpatient elective surgeries and the other one is considering to do so due to the increase in COVID- 19 hospitalizations. She did not specify whether the hospital was Woodland Memorial or Sutter Davis, and county officials did not have further information.

The saliva test can also be modified to detect whether a patient has the common flu or COVID.

According to Hiatt, UCD is expanding testing countywide to firefighters first and foremost because they are often called on to treat those with COVID19. Then it will advance to those in public safety and ultimately private residents.

In Woodland, thus far, there have only been a few cases of COVID- 19 among first responders.

Hiatt, in his report to the council, also said the city is working with the county to develop access to a nasal- based swab test.

In all, it’s hoped the increased testing will allow for a greater response time to let health officials know if someone is COVID- 19 positive.

In terms of the small business loans, Hiatt noted that many have been “hammered” by the virus with lost revenue. That resulted in a “Support Small Business Assistance Program” launched in mid-November with $ 235,000 in grant money available to Woodland businesses under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds.

Yolo County was originally allocated $ 300,000 provided under CARES but wasn’t able to spend all its money in time, so the remanding $ 235,000 was made available to Woodland.

Those business owners with 20 or fewer employees and who have “annual receipts” of $ 2 million or less were to apply for $ 500 per full- time equivalent employee up to a maximum of $ 10,000 to assist with general business expenses such as payroll and sanitation. Independent contractors may also apply for up to $ 500.

In addition, small businesses were also able to apply for up to $ 10,000 in reimbursement of expenditures necessary to serve clients outdoors during the winter months, such as winterization or facility improvements.

Applications were due by Nov. 30, evaluated by city staff and then awarded. All of the money had to be given out by Dec. 31 or returned.

On Tuesday, Hiatt told the council that over 50 applications were received and just under 50 were awarded with checks being sent out this week.

“Hopefully, this will help these small businesses endure this restricted period,” he said.

Councilwoman Victoria Fernandez wanted to know if all of the $ 235,000 had been given out and Hiatt said it had. “We didn’t want to leave a penny on the table,” he said.

Councilman Tom Stallard — who recused himself in the November council decision because he is a small business owner — expressed his appreciation. “It’s a very dark hour for many of our businesses,” he said.