More than two months after entering shelter in place, most Santa Clara County residents can now access COVID-19 testing.
Importantly, testing is available to residents, regardless of if they are displaying symptoms or not. Officials from the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County made the joint announcement Wednesday morning.
“If you are in the City of San Jose, and you want a test, you do not need health insurance, you do not need to pay, you do not need symptoms. You can get tested here at Verily,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo during the announcement event.
The screening and testing is available free of charge thanks to a partnership between the state and Verily. That company is a subsidiary of Alphabet, which also owns Google.
“Verily is a critical partner in [ramping up testing], operating two sites,” Liccardo added.
“Verily continues to increase the testing capacity by scaling the program across the state and with others across the country,” said John Propst, who is heading up COVID-19 testing operations for the company.
The only limiting factor is that, to be eligible, residents must be 18 years of age. Testing will be available at two locations, operating from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Each site is expected to handle up to approximately 300 tests per day. Residents must make a reservation in advance of getting tested.
- Santa Clara County Fairgrounds – 344 Tully Road – drive-through service
- San Jose PAL Stadium – 680 S 34th Street – walk-up or drive-through service
Ramping up testing capacity county-wide
The ramp up in testing comes as county officials step up contact tracing in hopes of limiting the spread.
“The plan is to be doing a lot of testing so that we capture any of those little fires that flare up and we start to not only test those people and find the cases, but also find all of their contacts,” said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, who is charge of testing for the county.
“We know that for every case that we identify, there probably 20-40 people that came into contact with that person and may have been exposed,” Fenstersheib continued.
If you want to get tested, you must fill out and e-sign an authorization and lab consent form. To do so, click here.