On Friday, March 6, 2020, LabCorp and Quest announced that they are now testing for COVID-19. This means that private physicians now have the ability to order COVID-19 tests directly through these commercial medical laboratories.
Mendocino County Public Health is also continuing to work with the local healthcare system to identify high risk individuals to test through California’s Public Health laboratory system.
Whether a resident is tested through a private, commercial lab or through Mendocino County’s Public Health system, “When a test result for COVID-19 comes back positive it is a mandatory reportable disease with the requirement of immediate verbal reporting through the County’s Public Health Department,” explained Dr. Noemi Doohan, County Health Officer. “This is mandatory reporting regardless if I order the test through our Public Health lab or a clinician orders a test through a commercial lab. If a test result comes back positive, Public Health will be actively involved with each case.”
We are currently aware of two Mendocino County residents who have been tested for COVID-19 since Friday, March 6, 2020. One hospitalized patient was tested expeditiously through the Public Health laboratory system, and test results came back today as negative. The second Mendocino County resident is pending test results through the commercial laboratory system, and their health care provider is in direct communication with Mendocino County public health.
At this time, there are ZERO confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mendocino County. However, we are preparing for a possible pandemic of COVID-19 as recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
In light of more expansive community transmission of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) worldwide, Mendocino County Public Health is taking steps to prepare for the possibility of cases in our community in the near future. As more tests become available through the commercial medical laboratories, the number of COVID-19 tests in process will be prescribed by individual medical providers. When any of those test results come back positive, Mendocino County Public Health will be actively involved in containment and mitigation follow up.
