San Diego News Fix

What it's like to be tested for COVID-19 | Gary Warth

Episode Summary

Testing has expanded in San Diego County so anyone can signup and see if they have the disease.

Episode Notes

Publicly funded testing for COVID-19 in San Diego County had been reserved for people who had been referred to a testing site by a medical provider. That changed Tuesday when new state-fund testing sites opened in Escondido, Grossmont College in El Cajon and at a closed Sears in Chula Vista.

Expanding tests to people without symptoms will be a way for the county to better track the spread of the virus, and the new sites together have a capacity of performing almost 800 tests daily.


The state contracted with Optum, which is part of UnitedHealth Group, to find 80 locations in California for the sites, and Optum has contracted with labs to get results from samples collected. The wait for results usually is 48 to 72 hours.