Santa Clara County public health director Sara Cody on Wednesday blasted recent changes to the CDC’s coronavirus guidelines that relaxed testing recommendations for asymptomatic individuals in a press conference.
The changes, which appeared Monday on the CDC’s website, say that people who’ve been in close contact with a COVID-19 patient but are asymptomatic “do not necessarily need a test,” unless they are a “vulnerable individual” or are recommended to take one by healthcare providers or public health officials.
“I actually didn’t believe it, for it seemed entirely bizarre,” Cody said. “The truth is that if you’ve been in contact with someone who is infected with COVID, you absolutely need to get a test.”
The Santa Clara County Department of Public Health’s testing page says that anyone who has been exposed to a COVID-19 patient, regardless of whether they have symptoms, should get tested immediately. The CDC’s own page for COVID-19 planning scenarios estimates for the purposes of public health planning that 40% of COVID-19 infections are asymptomatic.
“We are going to continue to work with all of our health care partners to ensure that they offer testing to the groups that need it,” Cody said. “And we through our county health system are going to continue to offer mass testing at several sites as often and as robustly as we can, for as long as it takes.”
