Seven Bay Area governments Tuesday ordered all commercial and academic medical labs to begin expanding the kind of data they report from tests involving the novel coronavirus.
Public health officers in Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, along with the city of Berkeley, now require the labs to report the results of all tests — including those with negative and inconclusive results — to the health care provider that ordered the test and to the appropriate state and local health officials.
Until now, those labs were only required to report positive test results for the virus, also known as COVID-19, which made it difficult for public health officials to know how many people were being tested overall,
according to a news release announcing the order.
Also, labs now are required to report “information that allows health officials to better locate the person tested,” according to the release.
“This order will ensure public health officials regionally and across the state have access to the information we need to understand, predict, and combat the spread of COVID-19,” said Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County’s health officer.
“Expanding reporting beyond positive results to include timely reporting of negative and inconclusive results allows local health officials to better understand whether there are areas of the community that are experiencing more intense transmission and project future trends in in the spread of the virus,” said Dr. Tomas Aragon, San Francisco’s health officer.
Currently, there are 930 confirmed cases with 19 deaths in the seven jurisdictions that issued the order.
“This does not account for the rapidly increasing number of assumed cases of community transmission,” according to the release.
Not very reassuring when the test gives 80% false positives.
Youre delusional.
Why would we count “assumed cases”.
This is what I’ve been saying, if we are barely testing anyone, including people with symptoms assumed positive, what good are these numbers? It’s basically what they want us to know, and that’s concerning.
Understand this is a unique situation, but do wonder about how HIPPA regulations apply and how confidentiality will be maintained by agencies getting the data.
Oh, it is a long read;
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/february-2020-hipaa-and-novel-coronavirus.pdf
but, it appears info can be released as long as it doesn’t directly link a persons identity to the info. Seems that Contra Costa can release a lot more than it is. Error on the side of caution?????
It’s truly sad how badly we are putting our healthcare workers at risk without the proper protective gear. I’ve heard that some of these workers are living out of their garages and are separating themselves from their family living in their house, for fear of bringing the virus home since they are not being adequately protected while at work at the hospital.
It’s as though we have become a Third World country.
Sad.
So does that picture provide the real scale size of the virus compared to people?
Must be! They’re literally the size of soccer balls. Take a couple of those to the head at 100 mph and it’s no wonder headache is one of the symptoms. And, it looks like they’re airborne, too. May even have tiny propellers on those blue things sticking out.
Watched the movie Soylent Green today. It’s better with a nice glass of bourbon. The Andromeda Strain (1971) was yesterday. Puts a perspectine on things.