FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2020
Santa Clara County, CA The County of Santa Clara has seen steady increase in the numbers of people getting tested for COVID-19, with an average of nearly 8,000 tests being conducted daily- about 400 per 100,000 residents. The state median is about 239.
“We’ve been well above state and county goals for months, and we’ve seen a lot of interest in our mass testing site at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds,” said Dr. Marty Fenstersheib, COVID-19 Testing Officer for the County of Santa Clara. “It’s very encouraging and a benefit to the health of the county that residents are continuing to prioritize COVID-19 testing, and are taking the time to get a quick, simple test. In addition, high testing numbers help allow more of the county to move into less restrictive state tiers.”
Because of the popularity of the Fairgrounds site, staffing has been increased to up the capacity to 1,800 this week. Next week it will further expand to 2,500 tests per day.
In addition to the rotating appointment-only sites in various cities and the ongoing no-appointment needed locations, the County will be conducting testing at San Ysidro Park in Gilroy and at Project MORE’s “hALLoWELLness” LGBTQ+ clinic event. The Oct. 30 hALLoWELLness event will also include flu vaccinations and wellness toolkits, both courtesy of community partners.
Next week, appointment-only testing will be conducted at sites in San José, Sunnyvale, Morgan Hill, Los Gatos, Saratoga and Milpitas. Appointments can be made starting seven days in advance of the testing date until all slots are reserved at www.sccfreetest.org. Appointment-based testing is also available in San José at the Fairgrounds, with appointments now available five days in advance.
APPOINTMENT-BASED TESTING SITES—make an appointment by visiting www.sccfreetest.org and clicking on “Schedule an Appointment Today”
Text message results are available at appointment-based County of Santa Clara testing facilities.
San José
Santa Clara County Fairgrounds Parking Lot A (across from the blue arch) - Drive-through, bike, and walk-up appointments
Across the street from the Fairgrounds main entrance, 344 Tully Road, San José, CA 95111
Appointments Tuesday-Friday, Oct. 27 – Oct. 30, 12 to 6:30 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 31, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunnyvale
Murphy Park, 260 N. Sunnyvale Ave., Sunnyvale, 94086
By appointment only for Monday, Oct. 26, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Morgan Hill
Morgan Hill Council Chamber Building, 17555 Peak Ave., Morgan Hill, CA 95037
By appointment only for Tuesday, Oct. 27, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Los Gatos
LGS Adult Recreation Center, 208 E. Main St., Los Gatos, CA 95030
By appointment only for Wednesday, Oct. 28, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Saratoga
Saratoga Friendship Hall, 19848 Prospect Road, Saratoga, 95070
By appointment only for Thursday, Oct. 29, 9:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Milpitas
Milpitas Sports Center, 1325 E. Calaveras Blvd., Milpitas
By appointment only for Friday, Oct. 30, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
POP-UP TESTING SITES – No appointments needed and only for people without symptoms
San José
Emmanuel Baptist Church, 467 N. White Road, San Jose, 95127
Tuesday to Friday, Oct. 27 – Oct. 30, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Gilroy
South County Annex (formerly Del Buono Elementary) – 9300 Wren Avenue, Gilroy, 95020
Tuesday to Friday, Oct. 27 – Oct. 30, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Gilroy
San Ysidro Park, 7700 Murray Ave., Gilroy, 95020
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 1:30 to 5:30 p.m.
San José (in conjunction with Project Move’s “hALLoWELLness” event)
Local Color, 27 S. First St., San Jose, 95113
Appointments preferred, first-come availability for drop-ins. Friday, Oct. 30, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Visit domoreproject.org/hallowellness/ to schedule an appointment.
The County test sites provide COVID-19 tests free of charge, regardless of immigration status, and no doctor’s note is needed. At some County test sites, people with insurance may be asked to provide their insurance information, so that payment from the insurance company can be collected. However, patients won’t be billed for any co-pay, deductible, or any other cost for testing. Those without health insurance or those who do not provide insurance information can still get a test at those sites.
For people without COVID-19 symptoms, the County currently offers indoor and drive-through sites. People with symptoms are directed to drive-through sites to reduce the chance of getting others sick.
The County of Santa Clara continues to remind those with healthcare coverage that systems such as Kaiser Permanente, Sutter/Palo Alto Medical Foundation and others are required by County order to offer free testing to symptomatic persons, persons who have been exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case, and all “essential workers.” Examples of “essential workers” include teachers, healthcare workers, grocery store clerks, and persons who work in agriculture or food manufacturing. For more information on testing rights, see our Frequently Asked Questions page. The County also collects and publishes data on testing by large healthcare systems: https://covid19.sccgov.org/dashboard-testing#hstesting.
County test sites and additional sites operated by other organizations are mapped on the County’s website at www.sccfreetest.org. The site is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Tagalog. Information is also available by calling 2-1-1.
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