By Grace Hase
Santa Clara County health officials announced Monday morning that the county has conducted one million Covid-19 tests since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our ability to test has increased tremendously since earlier in the year,” Santa Clara County Covid-19 Testing Officer Dr. Marty Fenstersheib said at a news conference. “We are now doing anywhere from 7,000 to 8,000 tests a day. It’s been a community-wide effort, no one individual or facility has done it all themselves.”
The county health system alone has conducted more than 30 percent of all Covid-19 tests, with the remaining tests being conducted by private partners and the state of California. The Santa Clara County Fairgrounds has been one of the most popular testing sites, with more than 2,500 people being tested there each day.
Fenstersheib said that the county’s testing abilities have made it possible for them to remain in the orange tier, which is one of the least restrictive tiers under the state’s reopening framework.
In early October, Santa Clara County became the largest jurisdiction in the state to move into the orange tier, which allowed indoor dining, museums and zoos, indoor church services and college sports activities without fans to resume. Capacity limits for malls and other retail businesses were also lifted.
As of Oct. 31, 25,094 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Santa Clara County, with 406 of them dying from complications of the coronavirus. The seven-day positive testing rate is currently at 1.7 percent.
Gilroy reported 29 new cases between Oct. 28-Nov. 1, while Morgan Hill had 27.
In California, state health officials announced Monday that there have been 930,628 confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic, with 4,094 new cases on Sunday. The state’s seven-day positivity rate is 3.2 percent. Meanwhile, 18,912,501 tests have been conducted statewide.
