County receives nearly 68K rapid tests

As of Tuesday, residents began receiving their free tests in the mail

Mendocino County Public Health officials announced Friday that they had received nearly 68,000 rapid Covid-19 tests that will be distributed to local healthcare clinics and other community partners.

According to a Jan. 28 press release, the “Public Health Department of Mendocino County received an additional 67,980 Nucleic Acid Amplification Covid-19 tests,” which officials described as 20-minute tests “that are more sensitive than the rapid antigen tests (Binax and iHealth) that are already widely available (and) can detect the Omicon variant in smaller concentrations, which might be missed by an antigen test.”

The release also notes that “these tests are provided by the federal government because of the rural nature of our communities. Tests are being distributed to clinics, skilled nursing facilities, and the Mendocino County Office of Education.”

County officials also note that “every home in the U.S. is now eligible to order four free at-home, rapid antigen Covid-19 tests.” The website taking such orders went live on Tuesday, Jan.18, and county officials report that some “Mendocino County residents received their four tests beginning on Tuesday, Jan. 25.”

The orders usually ship between seven and 12 days, and on Friday some residents were still waiting for their orders to ship after 10 days.

If you have not ordered your free tests, you can do so here: https://www.covidtests.gov/

If you have test results showing you have contracted Covid-19, Public Health officials note that “it is important to isolate for 10 days from the day of the test, or the day of your first symptom. You may end isolation after 5 days if you test negative and have no symptoms on the 5th day of isolation.”

For more information or for support isolating, call Public Health at 707- 4722759.

You can also visit www. mendocinocounty.org/covid19