Monterey County now reporting number of Covid-19 tests by outside labs.

Monterey County Public Health Laboratory staff have been working seven days a week since March 6, the date the lab began conducting its own Covid-19 tests, rather than sending samples out to outside labs. County Health Officer Edward Moreno told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, March 31, that the overworked staff is pushing out as many as 80 test results a day.

As of Monday, the Health Department reported the lab had tested 561 people, but it's not the only lab now processing tests. Commercial and hospital laboratories are now testing patients and the county just began reporting those numbers on its website. A total of 700 people have been tested by all labs combined. The county's lab is processing 80 percent of all tests.

That testing has resulted in 40 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Monterey County as of Monday, an increase in four cases since the last update on Sunday. That means 5.7 percent of all samples tested came back positive. Of the 40, 32 were identified in the county lab, three in a hospital lab and one in another public health laboratory. 

The four new cases reported Monday came from two more people under the age of 50 who were confirmed with the virus, one in the 50-64 age range and one in the 65 and over range. Three were male and one was female, for a total of 15 and 25, respectively.

Three of the cases were on the Monterey Peninsula or in Big Sur, and one was in Salinas. The combined North County/South County number remained the same at six cases. The number of travel-related cases remained at 10. Person-to-person cases—those people who had direct contact with a confirmed case—increased by three to 15 cases. The fourth case was listed as community-acquired.

Moreno told supervisors on Tuesday that some staff members have not had a day off in "quite sometime." There are plans for the lab to begin using other test methods to increase the number of tests completed, but some of those methods are time-consuming. More staffing would be needed, he said.

Who gets tested continues to be within the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control, with a local modification of prioritizing certain cases. For example, Moreno said, the Health Department is testing hospitalized cases first, in order to help hospitals make decisions about isolation and the use of personal protective equipment. With equipment being scarce across the country, finding out a patient is negative for Covid-19 means preserving equipment for positive cases.

Also a priority are healthcare workers and first responders. Moreno said it's important for the safety of the community and workers' families that they know if they have the virus or not. A negative test means critical staff won't have to quarantine and remain off the front lines of caring for and protecting the public.

Moreno said he hopes the county can get more tests to move beyond the current priorities and to test those with milder cases who are presumed to have the virus. He said it might help people take more seriously the importance of remaining home and isolating themselves from others.