Letter to Dr. Sonia Angell, Director and State Health Officer of California Department of Public Health - Matsui Urges State, Federal Officials to Direct Resources to Sacramento COVID-19 Testing Sites

Letter

Dear Dr. Angell,

I am writing to you with an urgent request for the state of California to direct immediate assistance to Sacramento County's community COVID-19 testing sites. This week, the County was forced to suspend five of its six community testing locations due to an abrupt shortage of viral transport media and reagents needed to collect, store, and analyze patient samples. I understand that the national shortage of testing reagents and supplies continues to limit our local public and private partners' ability to procure the transport and laboratory materials necessary to sustain robust and widespread testing. However, Sacramento County remains in critical need of the state's assistance to acquire the supplies necessary to carry out the testing process and resume the sites as soon as possible.

When the pandemic began, Sacramento County had one free testing site available via drive thru for symptomatic residents. When the County was allotted federal relief to expand testing, it opened sites in various communities that are accessible to its most vulnerable residents and those who may be asymptomatic carriers. The testing site locations were chosen with the assistance of local community leaders, who assisted in identifying locations with the greatest need. In addition, these sites provided needed support for the many residents who do not have a car and therefore could not utilize testing at the drive thru site.

The widespread availability of testing for those who are symptomatic and asymptomatic is vital to mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and protecting the health of our community. Without immediate access to adequate supplies in Sacramento County, we risk overwhelming the remaining two sites and deterring people from seeking a test when appointment availability fails to meet demand. The five suspended sites have the capacity to test 150 people per day. In their absence, the County has lost over 70 percent of its testing capacity and is missing critical COVID-19 information for at least 750 people per week. As positive cases continue to rise in the region, I ask that the state of California immediately address this urgent need and assist Sacramento County with a supply of transport media and reagents necessary to resume these sites to a functional capacity.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

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