A certain level of freakout takes place among employees when they hear a coworker tested positive for COVID-19. It's a frustrating, even scary, situation for everyone. Patients must self-isolate, worrying if they'll end up in the ICU. For Public Health, it's a waiting game as state-run testing facilities are maxed out. For customers — well, wear a mask, everybody, and wash your hands.
Santa Barbara County's halcyon 1 in 100 positive testing rate — just a month ago — rose to one infection in every 10 persons tested in recent weeks. That raises the question: Who is next in line to be infected? Finding out is the job for the county's 68 contact tracers, who make hundreds of calls trying to locate anyone who was in contact with a positive patient. But is the system working?
So many people have flooded the state's free testing system — some just out of curiosity — it's taking 8-10 days for results to reach the county. A test through a private doctor can cost $130, and some places limit them to symptomatic patients. Insurance covers the test; for the uninsured, tests are paid by the federal Health Resources & Services Administration.