OC Fairgrounds New Coronavirus Testing Super Site

COSTA MESA, CA —Though the fair was canceled over the summer due to coronavirus concerns, the fairgrounds is the newest location for massive amounts of coronavirus testing.

A new "super site" for COVID-19 testing like the one at Anaheim Convention Center opened Wednesday at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.

No insurance? That's okay, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

There is no out-of-pocket cost for a test as insurance will cover some and the county will pay for those uninsured.

Officials will prioritize testing for people with symptoms, people have come into contact with an infected person, healthcare workers, first responders, anyone who lives or works in high-density housing, and workers in essential businesses such as grocery stores and teachers.

Make a reservation:

Results will be available in one to two days. Anyone wishing to schedule a test should make a reservation directly through the super site.

Dr. Clayton Chau, the county's chief health officer and director of the Orange County Health Care Agency, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that he was "optimistically confident" that the county will remain off the state's watch list.

Orange County was removed from the list Sunday. The state mandates a county must be off the list for 15 days before all schools can reopen.

Supervisor Lisa Bartlett said coming off the state's watch list does not mean the state will also reopen various businesses for indoor commerce such as personal services, shopping malls, restaurants and bars.

"I think it's important to clarify what that means, because a lot of individuals and businesses think that once we get through this 14-day wait period that we can open everything up again," she said.

"The only sector that can reopen is the schools," Chau replied.

But Chau said he is "hopeful" the state will issue new guidelines soon to reopen some of the closed businesses.

"There's a conversation between the state health officer and all the other county health officers on how do we reopen the other business sectors safely," he said.

The decision to reopen schools will be left up to each of the county's school districts.

Chau noted that while overall the county is doing well enough to get off the state's watch list, there are still some ZIP codes that have positivity rates as high as 17% to 21%.

What would it take to return to the watch list?

Orange County could be placed back on the watch list should it be flagged for exceeding any one of six different metrics for three consecutive days.

Those metrics are the case rate, the percentage of positive tests, the average number of tests a county is able to perform daily, changes in the number of hospitalized patients and the percentage of ventilators and intensive care beds available.

Read also:

Orange County Coronavirus Update: Day 4 Off Watch List

New Orange County Health Officer Hired By OC Supervisors

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