News Update

State announces new Covid-19 testing guidelines to prioritize essential workers including school employees

Essential workers, including school employees, will get priority access to Covid-19 testing, California’s Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly announced Tuesday as part of the state’s new testing protocols.  He also said the state is expanding testing sites to include pharmacies and clinics in an effort to improve testing access.

Ghaly, speaking during the state’s daily briefing,  said the changes would “help us ensure we are setting up California for success in the important mission of bringing kids and staff back to our campuses.”

He also said the state is trying to better utilize academic labs such as those at universities including UC Davis, which has been underutilized, to “match up” demand with capacity in an effort to reduce testing time throughout the state.

In addition, Galy announced that the state’s testing task force will work to ensure that the costs of tests will be reimbursed by health care providers. He said the new guidelines would be posted soon on the California Department of Public Health website.