CONTRA COSTA COUNTY — In an effort to expand available COVID-19 testing, county health officials are issuing a new health order to require private healthcare facilities to quickly provide COVID-19 tests to essential workers and others who risk exposure to the virus.
Under the health order, which goes into effect Oct. 8, healthcare providers will have to test people in a “timely” fasion if they are essential workers, report having been exposed to someone with COVID, or are part of a contact tracing investigation designated by the county health department.
County health officials also sent a formal request to large healthcare facilities with a presence in Contra Costa, including Kaiser Permanente, John Muir Health, Sutter Health and San Ramon Regional Medical Center, asking them to adopt policies allowing anyone who asks to get a fast COVID-19 test, regardless of their symptoms.
County public health officer Dr. Chris Farnitano had told supervisors earlier this month that the county was working on the order, especially so that private health providers could “not put limits on how often you can get a test and not require a physician interview or visit to get a test.”
He explained then that county public health officials have been trying to work collaboratively with community health care providers to make testing more accessible for people so they don’t have to rely solely on county testing sites.
“Kaiser is only doing about 18 percent of the tests in the county, but they cover about half the insured lives in Contra Costa,” Farnitano noted, adding that “they’re not doing as much as we’d like so we’re working on a health order to make that a requirement.”
About 20 percent of people tested at the county’s public testing sites have private health insurance that would cover the cost of the tests from their own healthcare providers, but many have reported that they were denied tests by their own providers because they didn’t have symptoms or needed an evaluation by their doctors first, according to a news release from the county.
County health officials have urged people to get tested whether or not they have symptoms or known exposure with someone sick. Those with public-facing jobs should get tested every month, Farnitano has said.
“Getting a test matters, even if you feel well, because about 40 percent of people who test positive for the virus never develop clear symptoms,” Farnitano said in a written statement.
Currently about 2,300 people get tested for COVID-19 per day in the county, including both the public sites and by private providers, according to information from the county health department. Officials want to increase that daily number to 4,500.
The new health order comes after Santa Clara County health officials decided to beef up their mandate for private health systems to expand testing, including for people who have been exposed to COVID-19. When those systems failed to step up, Santa Clara officials this month issued a new, specific order that every essential worker, regardless of symptoms, must be provided a test within one to three days, along with those who are symptomatic or who have been exposed to others with the virus. Providers in that county who do not comply could face a $5,000 fine for every violation.
Contra Costa’s newest order states that violators could also be subject to a fine. The county in July issued an emergency ordinance stating that for health order violations involving commercial activity, violators of the order could be fined $250 for a first violation, $500 for a second violation or $1,000 for each additional violation within one year. For non-commercial activities — such as for individuals who refuse to wear masks within distance of others — the fines range from $100 to $500 for additional violations.
However, enforcement officers have discretion to issue “notices of violation” before issuing fines to those who violate any county health orders.
