REDDING, Calif.- Governor Newsom has said he’d like the state to ramp up testing for the coronavirus.
Action News Now spoke to a local doctor in Redding who says identifying and isolating people at risk for spreading coronavirus is important for opening our cities as soon as possible.
Dr. Mark Pierce is a doctor of internal medicine at Hilltop Medical Clinic in Redding, one of the clinics equipped to administer coronavirus tests.
“We’re doing the testing here outside of the building,” says Dr. Pierce.
Hilltop Medical Clinic has been responsible for testing a quarter of the 26 patients that tested positive for COVID 19 in Shasta County.
The clinic has eighty testing kits with more on the way. Dr. Pierce believes it’s time to relax testing standards and consider testing all people with respiratory infections.
“In Redding, California, I believe we can and should start to do the test and trace more aggressively,” says Dr. Pierce. “Let’s keep it out of our community so we can get back to work.”
Test and trace means testing people who may be sick, identifying those who test positive, and responding quickly to help them prevent the spread.
“If one of those persons is sick, we want to know why that person is sick,” says Dr. Pierce. “And if it’s COVID, we want to know who they were in contact with, so we can monitor them very closely and test them as soon as they show any signs.”
Hilltop Medical Clinic is one of several clinics that’s switched to telemedicine.
“All people are using telemedicine to first decide what needs to occur next,” says Dr. Pierce. “If it’s necessary for the person to come into the clinic or can this be handled through the phone, again to decrease during this time period.”
Hilltop Medical Clinic currently tests 10 to 15 patients a day, with results available in less than three days.
Dr. Pierce tells Action News Now the clinic is following strict precautionary and safety guidelines to protect staff, patients, and the community.
Hilltop Medical Clinic has another clinic off Eureka Way in Redding which is being used for non-respiratory illnesses, routine physicals, and injuries.
Follow us on Social Media for daily updates!
Thank you @ActionNewsNow for the great production.
PRESS: Contact for PR or Media – DrNancy@DrNSP.com
