Coronavirus results in 45 minutes? SLO County hoping to get a quicker test

As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases rises in San Luis Obispo County, the Public Health Department is looking for a way to accelerate testing.

One way could be to use a new test that can produce results on site in less than an hour, County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein said at a Monday news briefing.

“We continue to try to move the needle and be able to significantly amplify the testing availability for our residents,” Borenstein said at a weekend news briefing.

That’s important, she added Monday, because “We do expect to see an increase in cases day over day, week over week and maybe month over month.”

Borenstein said while the county’s current capacity is 50 tests per day due to their equipment, they are looking for more ways to test — including by using a newly approved point-of-care test.

Cepheid, a molecular diagnostics company that already has contracts within San Luis Obispo County, has developed the test to diagnose coronavirus.

The test can be conducted by the care provider, whether that is at a clinic or at a hospital, rather than being sent out to a lab, which has been the only option so far. It also produces results within about 45 minutes, according to Borenstein.

“During this time of increased demand for hospital services, clinicians urgently need an on-demand diagnostic test for real-time management of patients being evaluated for admission to health-care facilities,” Cepheid said in a statement.

The Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for Cepheid’s point-of-care test on Saturday. The company intends to roll out the tests by March 30.

Borenstein hopes the county’s prior work with Cepheid will help it get the tests, but she does not know how long it may take .

In the meantime, Borenstein said the county is working on getting a high-capacity machine for one of the county hospitals to process tests faster.

At this time, private labs are able to conduct tests at a faster rate than the county. Local hospitals are swabbing suspected patients and sending their samples to private labs.

Currently 17 of the 33 confirmed cases in the county have been confirmed by private labs.

Borenstein said the machine will alleviate the need to rely on private systems outside of San Luis Obispo County, yet she is glad private labs are testing.

“There a number of things moving on the testing front, and we are well poised to jump on all of the opportunities that stand before us,” Borenstein said.