September 17, 2020
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    Redwood City – The County of San Mateo continues to work to protect public health and safety in response to the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19.

    The County of San Mateo’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) remains open to coordinate countywide response and communications in response to the situation. The EOC’s Joint Information Center will provide status reports every Tuesday and Thursday until further notice. Today’s report:

    County Announces New COVID-19 Testing Opportunity this Saturday, Sept.19

    The County of San Mateo’s no-cost COVID-19 testing is available without restriction to anyone. It is advisable to schedule an appointment at least 72 hours in advance with Verily/Project Baseline, San Mateo County’s testing provider at https://bit.ly/2xk73OL

    Because some testing dates were canceled last week due to unhealthy air quality, testing will be available Saturday, Sept. 19, at the San Mateo County Event Center from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

    If you don’t have access to the internet, there may be a volunteer on site who can assist you. See testing dates and times for the following locations:

    East Palo Alto: Sept. 18 (8 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

    2160 Euclid Avenue

    San Mateo: Sept. 19 & 21 (8 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

    San Mateo County Event Center

    1346 Saratoga Drive

    Half Moon Bay: Sept. 22 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

    Our Lady of the Pillar

    565 Kelly Avenue

    Additional Testing Opportunities: Stanford Medicine offers testing options for both Stanford patients and the public. First responders and essential workers will be given priority for testing and results delivery, regardless whether the individual is a Stanford patient. Visit Stanford Medicine's page for more information.

    Important Note: If you have any form of health insurance, your first stop for testing should be your primary care physician or local medical clinic. This is the best way to get follow-up care right away, and you may also get your results faster.

    Moving Out of Purple

    County Manager Mike Callagy announced the County is expanding COVID-19 testing capabilities, including working with cities to provide testing kits and training.  

    Testing is a priority for a number of reasons. Readily accessible testing makes it easier for all community members to get tested, including those who may not have symptoms.

    “We’ve had almost 160,000 tested in this county to-date, which is terrific. We want to keep those numbers high.” Callagy said.

    San Mateo County is currently in the most restrictive tier with “widespread” risk (purple in the state’s color-coded dashboard).  This is based on results for individuals tested for COVID-19 – the rate of positive tests and what’s called the adjusted case rate.

    Results for the week ending September 5, meet the state’s criteria to move into a less-restrictive tier (red in the state’s dashboard where risk is “substantial”). The county must meet the next tier’s criteria for two consecutive weeks.

    If we meet the criteria for a second week (September 6-12), we could then move to the red tier.

    Learn more about what each of us can do to move San Mateo County from purple to red – and the role testing places in the state’s criteria -- at https://www.smcgov.org/press-release/covid-19-update-moving-purple-red-what-it-takes

    County Manager’s Media Briefing on YouTube

    The Sept. 16, 2020, media briefing on the County of San Mateo’s response to COVID-19 can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoQUz05dXyo

    Subscribe to the County’s YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/sanmateocountygov

    Health to Host Discussions on Resiliency & Connection During COVID-19 Sept. 18

    In partnership with StarVista, San Mateo County Health's Behavioral Health & Recovery Services will host a Facebook Live event (https://www.facebook.com/events/439113393729115/) in both English and Spanish on Friday, Sept. 18.

    Discussion topics include how be safe and stay connected socially, strategies that can help keep community traditions alive, and coping tips for older adults and youth. The English session starts at 2 p.m. followed by the Spanish session at 3:30 p.m.

    Event panelists Brenda Nunez and Frances Lobos are co-chairs for San Mateo County’s Diversity & Equity Council (DEC). Brenda is the program coordinator for the Health Ambassador Program for Youth at StarVista and Frances is the community health planner with San Mateo County’s (DEC) and with Behavioral Health and Recovery Services at San Mateo County.

    Mask Mobile Brings Information & Resources to Communities

    The “Come Together San Mateo County Crew” is hitting the streets in the colorful Mask Mobile making stops in select communities to bring face coverings, COVID-19 testing information, cleaning supplies, and many more community resources. The information is available in multiple languages.

    To see where the crew will be next, follow the Office of Community Affairs on Twitter @SMC_CommAffairs.

    San Mateo County COVID-19 Case Count

    San Mateo County Health has updated the number of positive cases to 9,332 as of Sept. 16, 2020.

    County Health provides detailed information on cases by age group and date and deaths by age group. Learn more at https://www.smchealth.org/coronavirus

    Call Center

    Residents with non-medical, non-emergency questions about the coronavirus can call 211 or 800-273-6222 at any time, day or night. Callers from landlines and cellular telephones located within San Mateo County are connected with a trained service professional from 211, a confidential service available in 180 languages.