Local Counties Hand Out Free COVID-19 Home Test Kits

YUBA CITY (CBS13) — Home trial kits tin beryllium a elemental mode to halt the dispersed of COVID-19, particularly during vacation play gatherings. 

In stores, the kits scope from $14 to $40 for 2 tests — and that’s if you tin find one. But with prices high, and inventory low, immoderate counties are stepping up by handing them retired for free. 

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It was engaged Tuesday astatine Sutter County Health Department, 1 of six locations (see the remainder below) successful the region handing retired escaped COVID-19 location trial kits. They’re disposable to anyone who stops by. 

Most told america they were grabbing 1 to enactment harmless for household gatherings and to prevention money. 

“Even with my Medicare and my beauteous darn bully wellness insurance, they were going to outgo astir $25,” said Helen Heigleheier of Yuba City. 

Sutter County expects to manus retired much than 7,000 tests by Friday. They’re connected their 2nd shipment and expect different adjacent week. 

“I deliberation it’s astonishing and I’m precise thankful for it,” said Nicole Prester of Yuba City. 

Yolo County is besides handing retired escaped tests but lone to residents already receiving region services. Yolo County has handed retired  4,000 tests truthful acold and expects different shipment by Monday. 

“I’m hoping erstwhile we deed the populations that are already receiving services, we’ll beryllium capable to person them astatine different locations wherever radical tin conscionable locomotion successful and get a trial kit,” said Dr. Aimee Sisson, Yolo County Health Officer.

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Dr. Sisson is assured the emergence successful location investigating tin assistance halt the dispersed of COVID-19, but she besides says it’s leaving nationalist wellness departments unsighted to lawsuit counts. 

If location trial positives aren’t self-reported, they spell untracked. 

“If you don’t cognize what’s happening with cases, you won’t beryllium capable to spot illness spreading until radical extremity up successful the hospital,“ Dr. Sisson said. 

One solution is to way hospitalizations only, an attack Marin County already is taking. Dr. Sisson says that’s not enough.

“I don’t deliberation we tin spend to hold until hospitalizations spell up to enactment accrued interventions due to the fact that astatine that point, it’s excessively late,” Dr. Sisson said. 

She thinks we yet volition determination to a statistics-based approach, utilizing tiny samples to estimation wide lawsuit numbers. 

“These are ongoing conversations and we’ll fig retired however to onslaught this equilibrium but it won’t beryllium overnight,” Dr Sisson said. 

Tests successful Sutter County are being fixed retired done Friday — 1 kit per person, and each kit comes with 2 tests. 

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Sutter County locations handing retired escaped COVID-19 location trial kits are:

• E Center Head Start, 2569 Apricot St., Live Oak, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. connected Friday.
• Sutter County Public Health, 1445 Veterans Memorial Circle, Yuba City, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. contiguous done Thursday.
• Sutter County Library, 750 Forbes Ave., Yuba City, from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. contiguous done Saturday (curbside pickup).
• Richland Housing, 420 Miles Ave., Yuba City, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. contiguous done Thursday.
• Barber Branch Library, 10321 Live Oak Blvd., Live Oak, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. contiguous done Friday (curbside pickup).
• Sutter Branch Library, 2147 California St., Sutter, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. contiguous done Friday (curbside pickup).

Elizabeth Klinge