Nation’s first city-initiated, no-fee COVID-19 Testing Site opens in Hayward
On March 23, just 19 days after the state declaration of a coronavirus emergency in California, the Hayward Fire Department began providing no-fee COVID-19 testing to people regardless of their place of residence or immigration status.
Launched in partnership with Avelino Lab USA, Inc., of Menlo Park, the Hayward COVID-19 Testing Site was established to take pressure off the region’s healthcare system, provide quicker answers for recently exposed first responders and healthcare workers, and help to suppress transmission of the virus through isolation after testing.
Teams of specially trained firefighter-paramedics also were dispatched from the Site to test residents and employees of nursing homes and members of other vulnerable populations.
By the close of 2020, the Site, now located at 1401 Golf Course Road in Hayward, had processed more than 52,500 COVID-19 tests and accounts for more than 50 percent of total tests in Alameda County. The City of Hayward is grateful for our Testing Site partnerships with La Familia, Eden Health District, Cal State East Bay, and the Hayward Area Recreation District for their contribution to the Site’s success.
Today, the Site operates from 9 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and remains a mainstay of coronavirus testing in Alameda County. To learn more or to schedule a test, start here on the City of Hayward website.
