Name: Surge in coronavirus testing has S.F. officials concerned about Thanksgiving travel
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Surge in coronavirus testing has S.F. officials concerned about Thanksgiving travel

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This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateIncreased demand for San Francisco’s free coronavirus testing services, presumably in preparation for planned Thanksgiving gatherings, has stressed the city’s infrastructure and prompted the mayor and health director to warn against what they characterized as a dangerous strategy.Complaints have been coming in recently that the Embarcadero testing site, which is part of the CityTestSF program, has been overrun by people seeking tests before traveling ahead of next week’s holiday.The primary complaint, according to several officials, has been that uninsured San Franciscans, essential workers and people who may have been exposed to the virus, are having difficulty getting tested because of the increase in customers.“Please do not use testing to determine whether you can travel or not,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, the director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health during a news conference to announce new restrictions in response to a Bay Area-wide surge in coronavirus cases.“Please remember, people who test negative can still harbor the virus” if it is in the early stages of infection, Colfax said. “The safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to stay at home with your immediate household.”The Embarcadero facility conducts an average of 1,700 tests a day at taxpayer expense, which is why some city officials are angry. Health officials say some of the people who have complained about delays have their own health insurance, but chose to go to the free site because it was more convenient.Dr. Naveena Bobba, San Francisco’s deputy director of health, said there has clearly been an increase in demand, but it isn’t clear whether the surge is because more people are feeling COVID symptoms or because they want to get tested in preparation for the holiday.“We really want to make sure our testing is utilized in a way that people who are symptomatic, who are in close contact (with infected people), or are essential workers have access to tests, specifically people in those categories who are underinsured or uninsured,” Bobba said.Testing before the Thanksgiving holiday “is not the right use of that resource,” she said. “We are actually strongly recommending people do not use that resource to travel.”The testing concerns came in the midst of a dramatic surge in coronavirus cases in San Francisco and across the Bay Area.Mayor London Breed announced Monday that the city has moved two categories — from yellow to red — in California’s COVID safety evaluation system. It means she will be reinstituting restrictions on social gatherings “for the sole purpose of trying to get to a better place.”“We are asking people to sacrifice because if you don’t, we could be paying the price by Christmas,” she said. “This is me sounding the alarm. ... We know this is going to be a tough couple of months.”Breed and Colfax also urged San Franciscans not to travel and to avoid large family dinners, a recommendation that the surge in testing indicates many people are not planning to follow.The city’s public COVID-19 testing program has 27 mobile sites spread around the city in neighborhoods that have been impacted the most by the spread of the virus.Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.The city announced it would be moving its pop-up testing site south of Market Street to the Alemany Farmers’ Market on Tuesday to keep up with increasing demand in the hard-hit area. Some 500 people a day will be tested at that location.In all, about 5,800 people are tested a day in San Francisco, more than any other city per capita in the nation, according to city officials.The collaboration with Color and Carbon Health has helped San Francisco become a national leader in turnaround time, with 86% of test results returned in less than 24 hours and 99% in less than 48 hours. Contact tracing is done on 85% of positive cases, Colfax said.The testing system is even more important now that San Francisco is “seeing an explosion of new cases,” according to Colfax.“These are not normal times,” he said. “Let’s be cautious, diligent and safe. Let’s make sure we and our loved ones are here for that vaccine so that we can celebrate next year.”More for youPeter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: . Twitter:Updated to include drought zones while tracking water shortage status of your area, plus reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Area’s largest water districts.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateIncreased demand for San Francisco’s free coronavirus testing services, presumably in preparation for planned Thanksgiving gatherings, has stressed the city’s infrastructure and prompted the mayor and health director to warn against what they characterized as a dangerous strategy.Complaints have been coming in recently that the Embarcadero testing site, which is part of the CityTestSF program, has been overrun by people seeking tests before traveling ahead of next week’s holiday.The primary complaint, according to several...

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Peter Fimrite

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Surge in coronavirus testing has S.F. officials concerned about Thanksgiving travel

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