Coronavirus testing site opening to all Mendocino County residents

Mendocino County on Saturday will launch a state-sponsored coronavirus testing site in Ukiah, which should significantly increase screening capability in the rural county described by officials as a “testing desert.”

Residents can sign up online or by phone to be tested for free at the site, which will be managed by the private health care company OptumServe, the county announced Wednesday in a news release. A doctor’s referral is not needed to schedule an appointment.

The testing facility will be open Saturday at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. After that, it will operate Tuesday through Saturday from 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

“This testing site will help Mendocino County dramatically increase testing needs for individuals who have had limited access to COVID-19 tests up until now,” Dr. Noemi Doohan, the county health officer, said in a statement.

The facility is one of more than 80 diagnostic testing sites established statewide to screen for the coronavirus among a wider swath of the general population.

North of Sonoma County - where state-funded testing sites exist in Santa Rosa and Petaluma - the state health department has so far set up just two testing sites, one in Humboldt County and one in Lake County.

Lake County opened its drive-thru testing site, operated by Alphabet Inc., a Verily subsidiary, on May 14. The mobile facility, open to county residents without a doctor’s referral, alternates between different parts of the county, including Clearlake and Lakeport.

As of Wednesday, Lake County has reported 14 COVID-19 cases, three of which are still active. No people have died from the disease. The county has tested over 1,400 ?residents.

Mendocino County as of Wednesday has reported 15 COVID-19 cases and has three active cases. The county has reported no deaths and has tested over 2,600 people.