Tuolumne County Health Department Addresses Testing Concerns
The Tuolumne County Health Department has heard concerns voiced by members of the community about a perceived lack of testing being done locally for COVID-19.
At yesterday’s board of supervisors meeting, Interim Public Health Officer, Dr. Eric Sergienko, stated, “I wish we had some more testing capability, but like everywhere else in the state, we are seeing a lack of capacity, and it is a supply chain issue, and not so much an issue we can resolve locally.”
The Tuolumne County Public Health Department reported late yesterday that 279 COVID-19 tests have been administered in the county to this point.
The public health department has put out a further statement, adding, “Though no extreme shortages of materials have been reported locally, rural communities throughout California have been struggling with access to more testing and we are currently advocating to our State Officials to be able to increase testing in our community. If you have concerns regarding access to testing, something that you can do is to reach out to your State and Federal elected officials. We want to reassure the community that we and our healthcare partners are doing the best we can with the resources given.”
The health department argues that despite the inability to test everyone in the community, the number given to this point, per capita, is on par, or higher, than larger cities in the state.
The latest information related to the public health department’s response to coronavirus can be found by clicking here.
