County of Santa Clara Surpasses 1 Million COVID-19 Tests Conducted During the Global Pandemic

County of Santa Clara Surpasses 1 Million COVID-19 Tests Conducted During the Global Pandemic

November 2, 2020

Santa Clara County, CA – Due to the combined efforts of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, the State of California, and private healthcare providers in the region, the County has conducted more than 1 million COVID-19 tests during the global pandemic.

“This shows the exemplary commitment from our community to confront COVID-19,” said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, COVID-19 Testing Officer for the County of Santa Clara. “We are all in this together and it is important that all essential and frontline workers continue to be tested regularly.”

The County’s efforts have constituted more than 30 percent of the COVID-19 tests, with the rest completed by the private healthcare industry and the state. The most prominent testing location is the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds where 2,500 people can be tested every day. Both appointment based and nonappointment based testing is available every week to serve the community in ways to accommodate everyone.

MOST RECENT DASHBOARD – October 30, 2020
https://www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/dashboard-testing.aspx

The extensive testing efforts since March have played a critical role in making the region aware of hot spots and ensuring outreach efforts can be targeted to the most critically affected communities. Geotargeted testing and outreach efforts have allowed the county to stay in the orange tier when the state introduced the health equity index.

The County has been aggressive in positioning test locations in almost every member city. Additionally, when testing was not being completed at acceptable levels, the County of Santa Clara issued multiple Public Health Orders to ensure testing was available to everyone who qualified.

The County test sites provide COVID-19 tests free of charge, regardless of immigration status, and no doctor’s note is needed. At some County test sites, people with insurance may be asked to provide their insurance information, so that payment from the insurance company can be collected. However, patients won’t be billed for any co-pay, deductible, or any other cost for testing.

Those without health insurance or those who do not provide insurance information can still get a test at those sites. County test sites and additional sites operated by other organizations are mapped on the County’s website at www.sccfreetest.org. The site is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Tagalog. Information is also available by calling 2-1-1.

For people without COVID-19 symptoms, the County currently offers indoor and drive-through sites. People with symptoms are directed to drive-through sites to reduce the chance of getting others sick.

TESTING LOCATIONS FOR NOVEMBER 2-7

APPOINTMENT-BASED TESTING SITES—make an appointment by visiting www.sccfreetest.org and clicking on “Schedule an Appointment Today”

Text message results are available at appointment-based County of Santa Clara testing facilities.

San José
Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Parking Lot A (across from the blue arch) – Drive-through, bike, and walk-up appointments
Across the street from the Fairgrounds main entrance, 344 Tully Road, San José, CA 95111
Appointments Tuesday-Friday, Nov. 3-6, 12 to 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Milpitas
Milpitas Sports Center, 1325 E. Calaveras Blvd., Milpitas 95035
By appointment only for Monday, Nov. 2, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Mountain View
Mountain View Center for Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View 94041
By appointment only for Tuesday, Nov. 3, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cupertino
Cupertino Senior Center, 21251 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino 95014
By appointment only for Wednesday, Nov. 4, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Campbell
Campbell Orchard City Banquet Hall, 1 W. Campbell Ave, Campbell 95008
By appointment only for Thursday, Nov. 5, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Palo Alto
Palo Alto Art Center Auditorium, 1313 Newell Rd, Palo Alto 94303
By appointment only for Friday, Nov. 6, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

POP-UP TESTING SITES – No appointments needed and only for people without symptoms

San José
Emmanuel Baptist Church, 467 N. White Road, San Jose, 95127
Tuesday to Friday, Nov. 3-6, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

San José
Public Health Department’s Resource Hub in East San José, 1775 Story Rd, Ste. 120, San Jose, 95122
Friday, Nov. 6, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Gilroy
South County Annex (formerly Del Buono Elementary) – 9300 Wren Avenue, Gilroy, 95020
Tuesday to Friday, Nov. 3-6, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Gilroy
San Ysidro Park, 7700 Murray Ave., Gilroy, 95020
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

The County of Santa Clara continues to remind those with healthcare coverage that systems such as Kaiser Permanente, Sutter/Palo Alto Medical Foundation and others are required by County order to offer free testing to symptomatic persons, persons who have been exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case, and all “essential workers.” Examples of “essential workers” include teachers, healthcare workers, grocery store clerks, and persons who work in agriculture or food manufacturing. For more information on testing rights, see our Frequently Asked Questions page.

The County also collects and publishes data on testing by large healthcare systems: www.sccgov.org/sites/covid19/Pages/dashboard-testing.aspx#hstesting

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