County expands sites for testing
Six new locations to help respond to virus surge
Marin County is launching six new coronavirus testing sites amid a record-setting surge in cases.
Two sites in West Marin and one in San Anselmo opened this week. The other three, in Novato, Larkspur and Sausalito, are scheduled to open early next month.
Each site will be open once per week, county officials said.
The tests are free and available to anyone, regardless of whether they have health insurance or symptoms of COVID-19, county officials said. Appointments are required and can be made online at curative.com.
The walk-up sites are operated by Curative, a Southern California-based biotechnology company that has developed a mouth-swab test for the coronavirus.
The tests are self-administered. Staff members at the testing sites give each patient a swab. Patients are told to cough, which releases aerosols from the respiratory tract, before swabbing saliva from the inside of the cheeks and roof of the mouth. The swab is then sealed in a container and returned to the staff, who send them to laboratories for processing.
Results are delivered to patients by email or text message within two days, according to county health officials. Curative can process about 500 tests per day at each site, officials said.
“This method has some advantages,” said Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County's public health officer. “It's less uncomfortable for patients and it's easier to test more people because you don't need staff to do each test.”
Dr. Lisa Santora, the county's deputy public health officer, said the Curative tests are as accurate as the nasal swab tests that have been commonly used in Marin since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to Santora, the tests are free for the county. Curative bills each patient's health insurance provider. For people who don't have health insurance, the company seeks reimbursement from the federal government through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, she said.
The schedule for each testing site:
Mondays: Bolinas Fire Station, 100 Mesa Road, 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; San Geronimo Valley Community Center, 6350 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays: United Market, 100 Red Hill Ave., San Anselmo, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, starting Jan. 5: Sausalito City Hall, 420 Litho St., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays, starting Jan. 6: Piper Park, 250 Doherty Drive, Larkspur, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays, starting Jan. 7: Novato Library, 1720 Novato Blvd., 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
County health officials are also hoping to partner with Curative to reopen the drive-up testing site at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, Santora said. That site closed last month when the county's contract with operator Color Genomics expired.
The county is negotiating a contract with Curative to operate the drive-up location, according to Santora. Unlike the other new sites, Curative would require the county to pay for tests administered at the Civic Center if it is unable to bill health insurance companies or get reimbursement from the federal government, Santora said.
The Civic Center site served as the primary location for coronavirus testing in Marin before it closed. County officials have since urged Marin County residents to seek tests through medical providers.
But with cases skyrocketing this month, “we are in a significant demand period for testing,” Santora said.
With the slow rollout of coronavirus vaccines, testing remains “the most important tool” for stemming the spread of COVID-19, Santora said.
Health officials recommend testing for anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19 or has been in close contact with someone who has contracted the disease. Essential workers who have regular contact with the public are urged to get tested monthly.
State officials continue to offer free coronavirus testing for Marin County residents at 1177 E. Francisco Blvd. in San Rafael. The tests are available to all residents by appointment. Reservations can be made at lhi.care/covidtesting.