$25 million COVID testing lab debuts
A new COVID-19 testing lab in Valencia will boost California’s testing capacity, reduce turnaround time for results and create hundreds of jobs.
The $25 million facility was converted for its new use by diagnostics company Perkinelmer under a contract with the state. It will begin processing tests in November. It’s expected to handle up to 150,000 tests per day by March with a turnaround time of 24 to 48 hours.
The additional testing capacity will allow California to better serve schools, health care providers and communities of color, which are at higher risk of contracting the virus. It comes just as flu season arrives and the need for testing is expected to spike statewide because the symptoms of COVID-19 and the flu are similar.
Gov. Gavin Newsom visited Valencia for the unveiling on Oct. 30.
“Earlier in this pandemic, our ability to test Californians for COVID-19 and get results quickly was hampered by supply chain challenges and overwhelmed laboratories — so we built our own supply chain and our own lab with Perkinelmer,” Newsom told those gathered at the unveiling.
The per-test cost to the state will be $30.78 once the lab reaches full capacity. Those costs will be shared with health insurers and some employers. For context, Medicare and Medicaid reimburse at roughly $100 per test, while the average cost of a COVID-19 test ranges from $150 to $200.
Mayors want theme parks open
A coalition of mayors from Anaheim, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and other big cities across California have called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to reopen Disneyland, Universal Studios, Seaworld and other large theme parks in the state.
A letter from eight California mayors asks the governor to modify state guidelines released as part of the Blueprint for a Safer Economy and allow large theme parks to reopen in the orange/moderate tier 3 rather than the yellow/minimal tier 4. The eight include Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Anaheim Mayor Harry Sidhu, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.
“We are concerned that the state’s guidelines would push reopening of large theme parks up to a year out, which would have significant negative impacts on hundreds of thousands of jobs, thousands of small businesses and billions in operating revenue for our cities,” according to the mayors’ letter.
Recently released COVID-19 reopening guidelines issued by the state keep large theme parks closed until their counties reach the yellow/minimal tier 4 risk level — which could leave major players like Disney and Universal unable to return until early 2021 or next summer.
Chicken thighs instead of wings?
Wingstop — the restaurant chain that primarily sells, well, wings — is testing bone-in chicken thighs to help stabilize costs as prices for wings remain particularly volatile.
The Dallas-based company, which said in February it would be testing the new thigh product this year, has been dealing with inflation in bone-in chicken wings. In addition to adding thighs to the menu in some markets, Wingstop has also responded to the fluctuating wing costs by raising some prices for consumers and negotiating with poultry suppliers, it said.
Chicken wing prices have been rising steadily this year, especially as more restaurant chains launch wing-only delivery services during the pandemic. Wholesale wing prices in the Northeast are at the highest since at least 2010, according to Department of Agriculture data.
“We will continue to find more ways to deliver against our long-term strategy to mitigate volatility and food costs such as the introduction of a new product, bonein thighs, which is in test in several markets today,” CEO Charles Morrison said on the company’s earnings call Monday after it reported revenue for the third quarter that met the average analyst estimate.
The thigh test began about two weeks ago in seven markets across the U. S., a spokeswoman for the company said.