Sonoma County marks 3rd coronavirus death as new testing sites set to open

Sonoma County marked its third coronavirus death Sunday as officials prepared to launch the county’s first testing sites open to all residents who need or want a test.

The COVID-19 death was the first for the county since April 10 and it comes at a time when coronavirus patients are becoming increasingly scarce in the county’s hospitals, which last week received authorization to begin performing elective surgeries again. As of Sunday, there were 17 suspected or confirmed coronavirus patients at area hospitals, including three in intensive care units, according to state data.

Sonoma County Supervisor Susan Gorin identified the person who died Sunday only as an “older gentleman,” and county spokeswoman Jennifer Larocque, who also confirmed the death, said the county would not share more information about the person who died, including his age and how he is suspected to have contracted the illness.

Cases in Sonoma County grew rose by five Sunday to 257, including 128 people who have recovered, according to data available on the county’s COVID-19 dashboard.

On Monday, the county’s latest shelter-at-home order takes effect, allowing a wider group of businesses to reopen, including auto sales, landscapers, florists and golf courses. At the same time, health officials are working with the state and private-sector partners to dramatically scale up another front for tracking for the disease in the general population, while also crafting a framework with those in health care, business and nonprofit circles that would help position those sectors of the county’s battered economy to more quickly recover.

As county leaders have begun to seek a balanced, cautious approach to reopening, however, hundreds of protesters gathered Saturday in downtown Santa Rosa to voice their discontent over the county’s response, including the shelter order that first went into effect March 18.

Blaring freedom-themed music and waving “Don’t Tread on Me” flags, some even called for the firing of Sonoma County Health Officer Sundari Mase, who more than anyone has devised and directed the response, issuing a variety of orders that are widely credited for slowing the spread of the deadly contagion in the community.

Gorin called the idea of firing Mase, an infectious disease expert with experience at the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “ridiculous.” Supervisor Lynda Hopkins said the county is lucky to have Mase.

But supervisors also acknowledged the pent-up frustration that many are feeling amid an extraordinarily stressful period.

“I think that we are in extremely anxious and turbulent times, and that people are afraid either medically or economically, and both of those things constitute existential threats,” Hopkins said. “I think it’s those kinds of emotions that lead to protest.”

Officials say a key metric to satisfying those who want to see the economy reopened is increased testing, and Sonoma County is set to nearly double testing capacity in the coming days.

Two coronavirus testing sites meant to serve all county residents, regardless of age, economic or immigration status or health symptoms will open Tuesday, helping the county move closer to its goal to conduct 800 daily tests.

The state-funded sites in Santa Rosa and Petaluma represent part of a push to bring 80 such testing locations online statewide to boost testing capacity as a precursor to reopening various economic sectors.

“We are pleased to see that the state is stepping in to supplement local testing efforts,” Gorin said in a county news release. “This will help us get reach our goal of conducting 600-800 tests per day, which will help us to understand the spread of COVID-19 here in Sonoma County - a critical step toward opening the county back up.”

Appointments will be required at the new test sites - Santa Rosa High School and the Petaluma campus of Santa Rosa Junior College. OptumServe, a nationwide health services company, is running all such sites in the state.

Residents can go to https://lhi.care/covidtesting or call 1-888-634-1123 to schedule an appointment. No drive-up testing will be offered.

Sunday afternoon the website was unable to serve people with iPhones, iPads or Apple computers, according to a notification pop-up on the website.

Tests are free for those without insurance, according to the release.

Sonoma County began April 25 an aggressive drive-thru testing regimen targeting health care workers and reaching an average 197 people per day, according to a county spokeswoman, on top of the number of people tested at private labs or through the county’s public health lab.

A weekend snapshot shows the county received 321 test results from all sources Saturday.

It added 105 results on Sunday.

The new local testing sites are expected to be able to test up to 260 people per day. Statewide, OptumServe is expected to be able to boost testing capacity by 10,500 per day, according to the release.

“These testing sites will help Sonoma County dramatically increase testing needs for individuals who have had limited access to COVID-19 tests up until now,” Mase said in the release. “We’re thrilled to partner with the state and OptumServe to help ensure our communities are healthy, while also helping meet our own and California’s testing goals.”