Imperial County health officials encourage essential workers to get tested for COVID-19

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY)-The Imperial County Public Health Department (ICPHD) encourages essential workers to get tested for coronavirus even if they don’t display symptoms. 

Although ICPHD is prioritizing people who are sick and work in high-risk places, the health department says all essential workers are eligible to be tested for COVID-19. 

“With our limited testing capacity we have focused on the high-risk people, but we have expanded outside of that initial circle,” said Dr. Stephaen Munday, ICPHD. 

Recent positive cases at the Imperial County Jail required exposed employees to be tested, but ICPHD says for good measure, they also tested employees that haven’t been necessarily exposed to the virus. 

“We are broadly testing the corrections officers who may or may have not been exposed. Additionally other members of the sheriff's department who may be transporting people therefore, could be exposed. This is regardless if they’ve had symptoms or not the plan is to broadly expand that,” said Munday. 

Munday says they want the community to take full advantage of the new OptumServe testing site at the fairgrounds. 

“We want to make sure we are taking full advantage of that. Right now the community is using it, but we have the capacity to use it as well. We want to really emphasize the fact to our first responders and our medical community and any other essential workers that they are absolutely eligible to go to the Optum site and have themselves tested for COVID,” said Munday.

The Imperial County Public Health Department says the OptumServe testing site will be at the IV Fairgrounds for the next couple of weeks.

Depending on what the state approves, the site will then be moved to another location in the valley.