|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Santa Clara County health officials are encouraging residents to get tested for the coronavirus, as testing rates have dropped by 34% in the last two months.
Health officials say testing is critical to understanding where the region stands in the pandemic, particularly as new variants continue to circulate in the region.
“If we are not testing robustly in the community, it narrows our view of where the virus is circulating, and to what level it is spreading. Testing also allows us to break the chains of transmission and reduce spread, which gives the virus less opportunities to replicate and mutate,” county COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Officer Dr. Marty Fenstersheib said in a statement.
County public health leaders continue to urge community members to practice social distancing and consistently wear face coverings, even if vaccinated.
For those who may have been exposed to the virus, testing remains free, easy and confidential. It is available seven days a week, and there are a number of options for people with different needs, including appointment or drop-in, drive-through or walk-up, and specimen collection by nasal swab or saliva.
Frontline workers should get tested at least once a month and up to once every two weeks, and continue testing even after being vaccinated, according to county guidelines.
Testing will be available next week in San Jose, Gilroy, Sunnyvale, Morgan Hill, Santa Clara, Campbell and Palo Alto. The Palo Alto testing is held every first and third Friday of the month at the El Palo Alto Room at Mitchell Park, 3700 Middlefield Road, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Appointments can be scheduled here.
Have testing rates dropped though because vaccinations have increased? Or are people just so fed up and burnt out with Covid that if they get symptoms they figure to just stay home and deal with the illness?
Also, it’s great that they are tracking this virus
(“it narrows our view of where the virus is circulating, and to what level it is spreading”) but of course they don’t alert the public to these specific details. They only do so by case counts by zip code which isn’t very helpful. I never know how truly safe or unsafe I am from the virus here in my beloved Crescent Park.
A couple of reasons for the 34% figure.
(1) We have beaten (not eradicated Covid-19) via vaccinations, the wearing of face masks, proper social distancing and various business closures.
(2) Most Americans are resilient and innovative individuals who can overcome just about any ailment (except the social ones).
(3) This victory over Covid-19 is a testament to former President Trump’s Warp Speed Program and worthy of consideration for another Nobel Peace Prize nomination.
(4) The entire state of California is scheduled to reopen again June and President Biden has ensured an open 4th of July for all Americans.
(5) This constitutes a return to normalcy and even if 1/3 of the American population refuses to get innoculated, we will still have established herd immunity.
(6) Americans will welcome a return to crowd gatherings and this should be encouraged if so inclined. Sports arenas, movie theaters, concert venues and dining establishments can now accommodate maximum capacities!
(7) Testing is no longer necessary which is why the percentages have dropped.
(8) We can now officially designate a VC Day (Victory Over Coronavirus) and celebrate like the kids do at Spring Break in Florida.
Why should they have all the fun?
I have never been tested, Too complicated. Early in the pandemic it was too complicated. People are just not bothering to go through the hassle of being tested; which I believe is attributed to lower number of Covid cases in our county.
Wear an N-95 and cover it with a 3M tie back mask to protect others. The scarf masks and homemade fabric masks or pleated loop masks worn alone will not give you the protection you need. I also recommend safety glasses and safety shield over all all of this.
When I went to get my vaccine I was complimented by three vaccine staff volunteers for my considerate and cautious attire. I hope others take this seriously – a simple pleated loop mask or home-made fabric mask or bandanna is simply not enough.
I am a molecular biologist who has worked with lethal hemorrhagic viruses.
Keep following the guidelines, and wear safety glasses as well, The virus can enter the via the eyes. A “blast shield” will protect your N-95 and safety glasses and the shield will protect you from touching your face.
I have worked with viruses and cell cultures for 3 decades and have never had a single cell culture become infected.
Beaten it?
Very clearly not – case numbers dropped, then stabilized, and the preliminary data from the last 7 days indicates that they’ve started to rise again:
https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/dashboard-cases.aspx
If we don’t go back to isolating, masking, testing, and contact tracing, until ~80% of our population is vaccinated, we’re going to have a fourth wave, just as other parts of the country have.
The coronavirus will never fully go away as it shares many of the same genetic material as the common cold.
It will continue to mutate.
My husband works at Intel and he has advised that in addition to the basic public health recommended protocols, our family members wear HazMat protective clothing when we are out in public.
He procured three sets for each one of us and at present, our kids are balking at wearing them to school and while at play.
I wore one once while while shopping at Trader Joe’s and it was very cumbersome and made driving our SUV difficult at times due to restrictive movements.
In addition to receiving peculiar looks from other shoppers, it was also posed some other challenges including reaching for shelf items and my credit card.
Not completely sold on my husband’s precautionary measures but to date, he has suspended our children’s allowances pending compliance and this issue has become an ongoing source of domestic and marital disputes between the two of us.
Covid-19 has radically altered our lives despite having been tested and vaccinated along with adhering to the basic public health recommendations while out in public.
Our lives are simply not worth living under these conditions.
Is it just me, or are most of the comments here meant to be sarcastic or humorous?
@sequoiadean, excellent question. When someone praises Trump’s response when 500,000+ died under him while he famously called it a hoax, put his unqualified son-in-law in charge, held super-spreader events for the proudly unmasked and encouraged his followers to threaten the lives of Dr. Fauci and his kids, the governor of Michigan, store clerks etc etc., you really have to wonder.
Dr. Birx did nothing to stem the spread of Covid-19. She was a Trump stooge whose credibility is ZERO.
Disgraceful when the medical and scientific community gives way to politics.