Six Bay Area counties order coronavirus testing data from labs

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Seven Bay Area jurisdictions have ordered academic, commercial and pop-up labs to report all COVID-19 testing data, including negatives, to health authorities as they attempt to track the fast-spreading virus across the region.

On Tuesday, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco,  San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, alongside the City of Berkeley, announced a new order that mandates all labs to report test results for all residents to both the health care provider and county officials.

Required data includes all positive, negative, and inconclusive results, and more data about individuals tested to help locate them, officials said.

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Santa Clara County Health Officer Sara Cody in particular has called for better reporting in recent days, noting that the need for better data has increased as more commercial and pop-up labs come online.

“Commercial and academic laboratories are important partners in providing testing to our community,” Cody said in a statement Tuesday. “Receiving this critical information from those labs will help local health departments respond to COVID-19 during this unprecedented time.”

Check back for updates.

Source: https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/24/six-bay-area-counties-order-coronavirus-testing-data-from-labs/