LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – State Sen. Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry have been working with county officials to ensure rural Californians are not left behind in coronavirus testing deserts as the state boosts the number of testing sites.
Currently, there are over 700,000 Californians who still aren’t within an hour’s drive of a testing site after a commitment was made by the state that all Californians will be within a one hour drive of a site. This is unacceptable to both the Assembly member and senator.
Sen. McGuire and Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry have been working hand in hand over the past several weeks with county officials and the California Department of Public Health to get a state testing site secured for local residents.
“If we are truly going to be a California For All, we need Testing For All,” Sen. Mike McGuire said. “The road to reopening our economy and our schools is built off of data, science and a robust testing program in all corners of this state. Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry and I have been working overtime to ensure testing equity and an additional state testing site here in Lake will be a huge boost. We are grateful to the county, California Department of Public Health and Governor Newsom for their partnership with this critical initiative.”
“I appreciate the partnership with the state, and the constant engagement from Lake County leaders to make sure that our reopening comes with the ability to track new developments with the virus at the county level. A testing site in Lake County is essential to reopening the local economy,” said Aguiar-Curry. “Safe reopening means having the ability to test and track the virus. Successful reopening will come when we can ensure a safe environment for patrons to go back out and support our local businesses.”
A state-sponsored testing site will be up and running in Lake County soon. Specific details and logistics on the site are currently being organized between the county and the California Department of Public Health. More information will be provided from the county of Lake in the coming days.
“From day one of the COVID-19 crisis, my priority has been keeping Lake County residents safe,” said Moke Simon, chair of the Lake County Board of Supervisors. “It has been deeply frustrating to get calls from people with mild-moderate symptoms that just can’t access testing, and as we proceed through the coming stages of recovery, testing will only be increasingly important. With 23 percent of our population over the age of 65, and an even greater percentage in at-risk categories, we all have loved ones we’re concerned about, and lives are at stake.”
“We cannot allow lagging indicators to lead in rural California,” said County Administrative Officer, Carol J. Huchingson. “More than 15,000 Lake County residents are at high risk of severe COVID-19 complications, and we have 50 staffed hospital beds and eight intensive care unit beds. It is not acceptable to wait until we have an acute crisis to understand the extent to which infection may be permeating Lake County’s communities. Greater surveillance testing capacity is overdue, and we are grateful our State representatives understood the problem, and we are on the precipice of addressing it.”
“Thanks to Senator McGuire and Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry’s tireless efforts, on behalf of and alongside Lake County’s leaders, we will soon know better where we stand in this fight,” said Supervisor Simon. “We’ve been fortunate, so far, but we have to be informed as well. Broader testing is critical to responsibly restarting our economy, and taking meaningful steps to recover from this crisis.”