More than 2,000 people tested at City of Hayward COVID-19 Testing Center

HAYWARD, Calif., April 7, 2020—The City of Hayward has tested more than 2,000 people for coronavirus infection at its COVID-19 Testing Center in the first two weeks of operation.

Of the first 2,089 people whose test samples have been analyzed, 226 have been found to be positive for infection with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 disease. These results are added to counties’ daily positive case updates as the results are confirmed and shared through the counties’ appropriate reporting channels.

The Testing Center, at 28270 Huntwood Avenue., was established to take pressure off hospital emergency rooms, provide quicker answers for first responders and health care workers with COVID-19 symptoms and better inform individuals so they know to isolate and help slow the spread of the virus.

The Center is open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. or until the number of tests available for the day has been exhausted.  Testing is free and available to anyone with COVID-19 symptoms and a fever over 100 degrees.  COVID-19 symptoms include cough and shortness of breath.

While testing is a vital tool in controlling coronavirus spread, broad-scale testing is not yet available.  Not everyone infected becomes sick and testing is being prioritized for individuals who are experiencing symptoms. 

However, there is increasing evidence that individuals are infectious 48 hours before they begin experiencing symptoms. To combat the risk posed by asymptomatic individuals, the Alameda County Public Health Department on April 2 issued a new recommendation that everyone wear a cloth covering of the nose and mouth when leaving home for essential activities.

The department recommends cloth coverings to help prevent people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others. Medical masks, which are in short supply, should be preserved first for health-care workers.

The recommendation followed a decision announced three days earlier by the Health Officers of the Counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco and San Mateo and the City of Berkeley to broaden and extend shelter-in-place in the Bay Area to May 3.

For more information on cloth face coverings and to read the April 2 Alameda County Public Health Department news release announcing the recommendation, click here.

For information on how Hayward is responding to the pandemic, including on COVID-19 testing by the Hayward Fire Department, go to COVID-19 Updates at www.hayward-ca.gov.