California testing priorities

When standardizing for population differences per 1 million people, California ranked 48th with 6,550 tests processed in the first week of April. Rhode Island ranked first with the most tests processed at 29,037, and Virginia ranked 51st with just 5,740 tests processed.

California has been lagging in processed COVID-19 tests for the last three weeks, ranking 50th on April 3, up to 45th the second week and back down to 48th the third week.

Gov. Gavin Newsom says California is improving.

“We are seeing substantially larger numbers tested on a daily basis. A little over 18,800 (April 12) yesterday. A little over 12,500 today. We are seeing those numbers increase compared to even a week ago. We want to get to 25,000 tests per day in the next few weeks,” Newsom said. As of April 19, testing for COVID-19 is becoming more readily available at hospital, academic, commercial and public health laboratories across California.

There are four priorities for testing for now:

Priority 1:

• Hospitalized patients.

• Symptomatic health care workers.

• People identified for testing by public health contact investigations and disease control activities in high-risk settings, including both residents and staff (congregate living facilities, correctional facilities).

Priority 2:

• Screening of asymptomatic residents of congregate living facilities prior to admission or re-admission (a hospitalized patient will be screened for COVID-19 prior to discharge to a congregate living facility).

• Screening of asymptomatic health care workers (skilled nursing facility workers, hospital workers).

• Symptomatic people in essential health and public safety occupations. (first responders, law enforcement, congregate living facility workers).

• Symptomatic people >65 years of age or with chronic medical conditions.

Priority 3:

• Symptomatic people in essential infrastructure occupations (utility workers, food supply workers, other public employees).

Priority 4:

• Community-based testing of all low-risk symptomatic people.

• Surveillance testing of asymptomatic people.

People should stay home and away from others until they have had no fever without the use of fever-reducing medications; they have seen improvement in respiratory symptoms for at least 3 days; and it been at least 7 days since their symptoms first appeared, i.e., the minimum length of time will be 7 days.