Alameda County has recorded 16 more COVID cases in Piedmont since Tuesday, bringing the total cumulative case numbers up from 431 to 447 on Friday.
It’s likely the true case count is higher given the difficulties in finding at-home rapid tests or PCR testing sites with available appointments as the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Thursday. The Santa Clara health department highlighted one of the bottlenecks:
“We have ample testing materials,” the Santa Clara County health department said in a statement. “Our main hurdles are staffing and lab capacity — more personnel are needed to administer additional tests and to process in the laboratories across the country.” Santa Clara said it has shifted personnel from other duties to bolster testing, but can’t muster “unlimited resources or unlimited laboratory capacity, given the national surge in testing demand.”
SF Chronicle, Jan. 6, “Coronavirus tests are nearly impossible to find in the Bay Area. Nobody knows when it’ll get better”
In a Facebook group for Piedmont families, parents have gotten into the habit of notifying the group whenever they find the elusive at-home rapid tests available online or in nearby pharmacies. Appointments for the Curative testing van at City Hall are not currently available. A notice on the City’s website says “Curative isexperiencing unprecedented demand for testing. Testing is currently by appointment only. Appointments may not be released until the day before testing. Appointments can be made at cur.tv/piedmont“