SLO County Public Health Lab can’t test everyone for coronavirus. Here’s why
The ability to find out if a patient is positive for COVID-19 is increasingly important as the new coronavirus spreads — both for public health officials attempting to tamper its reach and also for families who might have symptomatic members.
About 12 people work at the San Luis Obispo County Public Health Lab, which has a capacity to test around 50 specimens a day for COVID-19, according to the lab’s director, James L. Beebe.
There are 89 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county as of April 2. Forty of those were confirmed by the public health lab, which has tested a total of 463 specimens since the beginning of the pandemic. The remainder were of positive tests were processed at private labs.
Testing is limited in California, and much of it falls to the 22 state or county labs equipped to test specimens for COVID-19. One in four public health labs have closed in the state due to a lack of funding, the Sacramento Bee reported.
San Luis Obispo County’s lab also performs COVID-19 testing for Santa Barbara County. The testing process is not quick, and it’s not the only job that the lab, located on Johnson Avenue in San Luis Obispo, has right now.
Trained public health microbiologists, clerical staff, and volunteers — including two who came out of retirement to help in this public health emergency — are also maintaining regular responsibilities. That includes environmental testing of ocean water, for example, testing for rabies, and for other communicable diseases.
“They’re doing an excellent job and fairing well under tiring circumstances,” Beebe said.
It takes about five hours to test a specimen from the time the lab team receives it to when results are delivered to a public health nurse, Beebe said. The nurse then tries to find everything they can about the patient, including what contacts they’ve had.
“They’re on the front lines too,” he said of nurses.
The public lab has a much faster turnaround time than private labs, which can take three to 10 days to process specimens by some reports.
“Our role is quick response to urgent need,” Beebe said.
That’s why the public lab is dedicated to only testing individuals who had contact with known coronavirus cases, are symptomatic healthcare workers or public safety officers, or are individuals in sensitive areas such as long-term care facilities.
Anyone who has coronavirus-like symptoms who doesn’t meet that criteria should contact a personal care provider for screening, not an emergency room, Beebe said.
