Surge strains coronavirus testing sites in Bay Area

Testing and other tools critical to controlling the spread of the coronavirus are being strained as cases explode across the Bay Area, and in some places public health officials are changing protocols to try to keep up with demand. Several testing centers are fully booked for the next one to two weeks in San Francisco and some other counties. Though walk-ups are accepted, they are limited to people who are essential workers, who have a known exposure to the virus or who have symptoms. Some of the recent demand may be due to Thanksgiving and people wanting to get tested before and after traveling to see friends and family, though public health officials have sharply advised against that. But the main reason more people are trying to get tested is because there is more virus in the community as the pandemic surges locally and across the state and country. And the situation will almost certainly worsen in the next week or two as post-Thanksgiving cases appear, public health experts said. “We’re preparing for, in two weeks, a spike in the number of positive cases. And I know the local hospitals are preparing for increased hospitalizations,” said Dr. Caesar Djavaherian, medical… Read full this story

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