A milestone and a new pop-up program for Sacramento County’s coronavirus testing
Sacramento County Public Health officials celebrated a milestone Friday at one of its coronavirus test sites and launched a series of new “pop-up” test sites at the city’s libraries.
Both announcements came as the county looks to bolster coronavirus testing to meet state benchmarks set by Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has made increased test numbers a priority for counties to restart daily life under his four-phase reopening plan.
Cal Expo site
Two months after opening, a CDPH drive-thru testing site at Cal Expo officially registered more than 10,000 COVID-19 tests to local residents, officials said.
Health officials have operated the test site since March 24, in partnership with Verily, a bioresearch firm owned by the parent company of Google. The testing site will continue to serve hundreds of residents every day, but is only open to adults with either mild or no symptoms.
Appointments must be made to get tested using Verily’s registration process.
Test sites at Sacramento libraries
In an effort to expand access to testing, county health officials announced a new program of “pop-up” sites at various branches of the Sacramento Public Library.
Over the next several weeks, the joint effort between the California National Guard and the library will rotate testing locations at various branches every one to three days. The exact time and locations of these pop-ups will be announced on various social media platforms. A list of testing locations and updates are available at the Sacramento County COVID-19 testing website.
The first pop-up was held Friday at the Valley Hi-North Laguna library branch, 7400 Imagination Parkway. The site will be open until tests run out, officials said.
No appointment or “symptomatic requirement” is necessary to access these new sites, though residents will need to be at least 18, posses a valid ID and share contact information for test results. Testing will occur on first-come, first-served basis until capacity is reached.
UPDATE: As of Sunday, May 31, the pop-up site program will go on hiatus as California National Guard members prepare for possible redeployment in response to downtown protests, according to Sacramento County officials.
This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 12:36 PM.