San Francisco health officials outline plan to expand COVID-19 testing; say capacity rising but access remains uneven

San Francisco27s deputy public health officer, Dr. Susan Philip, told the Board of Supervisors on a teleconference that the city now has laboratory capacity to analyze thousands of COVID-19 specimens daily but testing performed so far remains far lower and access is uneven across neighborhoods and congregate settings.

Philip said the city27s public and partner laboratories can analyze up to roughly 4,300 specimens a day and that an additional 1,500 tests per day are being handled through the CityTestSF collaboration, but that actual daily tests reported recently were on the order of a few hundred. She urged continued expansion of test access, and said testing alone is not sufficient without case investigation and contact tracing to isolate and quarantine exposed people.

The deputy health officer framed testing as part of a larger containment and care strategy: identify infected people, isolate them with support, trace and quarantine close contacts, and prioritize screening where it will most reduce severe illness and spread. She said testing supply chains 2D swabs, transport media and reagents 2D have stabilized in recent days, allowing broader site…