On-the-job covid testing

November 18, 2020 — Surveillance testing programs in Mendocino County have come and gone, as the global pandemic has lasted much longer than anyone expected. The contract with UCSF to process tests from the clinics expired on the fifteenth of this month, and yesterday, Public Health Officer Dr. Andy Coren reported that the state had approved the county’s application for a mobile Optum Serv site, in addition to the site at the fairgrounds in Ukiah. Wineries have been testing employees through a private company called Healthy Spaces, and now there’s an effort to get more businesses to use the service to test employees on the job. The Chambers of Commerce in Mendocino County have been working with local business and trade groups, city and county officials, Coren, and the West Business Development Center to put together a program they hope will catch on at local workplaces.