San Luis Obispo County health officials are encouraging community members to get tested for covid-19 to help protect their loved ones and to progress toward reopening.
The more people get tested, the faster the state will ease pandemic-related restrictions locally.
“Testing for covid-19 is as important as ever,” said Dr. Penny Borenstein, County Health Officer. “First and foremost, it helps you and your loved ones stay safe. But it also has an added benefit of allowing us to progress towards safely reopening our local businesses and schools.”
Each county in the state is assigned one of the four tiers based on its risk level related to covid-19 test positivity, health equity and adjusted case rate.
SLO County is currently in the purple tier, meaning there is "widespread" risk of covid-19 because of its case rate.
"While the county’s positivity rate and health equity metric meet or exceed the Orange Tier thresholds, the county’s case rate only meets Purple Tier thresholds. However, the State adjusts the county’s overall case rate based on testing volume. As testing volume increases, the County’s adjusted case rate decreases. Likewise, as testing volume decreases, the County’s adjusted case rate can increase," health officials said in a press release.
Residents can get tested throughout the county in Nipomo, Grover Beach, Morro Bay, Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo.
Many sites are now open until 7 p.m., with walk-ups allowed in addition to appointments.
Health officials say the covid-19 test is much more comfortable because test swabs are only used at the base of the nostril, instead of the upper cavity.
Test results are usually available within one to three days.
For more information on where to get tested, click here.
