Why a negative COVID test isn’t right for you for Thanksgiving

As the coronavirus pandemic hits new heights across California days before Thanksgiving, testing in the Bay Area is also in full swing – a trend that is raising alarm bells for public health officials who fear that negative results don’t give people a false sense of security.

“The value of the tests is that if you are positive you will not collect, and it will prevent infection,” said Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, professor and head of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California. San Francisco. “But the challenge is that a negative test also doesn’t have to convince you that you are safe or non-contagious.”

State public health officials from top to bottom hammer out that just because someone tests negative for COVID-19 doesn’t mean they have the green light to travel or assemble for Thanksgiving.

Pandemic conditions continue to worsen and on Monday the state broke a new record for the most coronavirus cases reported in a single day – 18,643 – and recorded its highest seven-day average at this time. day, at least 12,163, according to figures compiled by the Bay Area News Group.

Hospitalizations are rising faster than ever in the state and over the weekend, the daily average of new cases in California reached its highest point in the pandemic. Compared to two weeks ago, California reports more than twice the number of new cases each day, its positivity rate has increased by more than two full points, and 78% more people are currently hospitalized in the state. .

When it comes to testing, there are big variables depending on when you get a test and what type, according to Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California.

“It has to be like Goldilocks – neither too early nor too late,” Chin-Hong said.

This is because the incubation period – or the time between your exposure and the onset of symptoms – can range from two to 14 days, with a median of four to five days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If a person is tested a day or two after being exposed, the results may be negative, but the virus can still build up undetected in the body.

The time right before someone starts showing symptoms of COVID-19 is probably when they are also in their most infectious state.

In addition to this, there are two testing options. Viral tests known as PCR are known to be more accurate, but results often take a day or more to come back; and Antigen, or rapid tests, can produce results within an hour but produce a higher rate of false negatives.

Bibbins-Domingo said there was nothing wrong with getting tested, but the key is not to be “falsely reassured by a negative test”.

“If you’re in quarantine, it’s more likely that the test reflects the likelihood that you really aren’t infected,” Bibbins-Domingo said. “But you still have to remember to take all public health measures, and getting together with people you haven’t been around just isn’t that.

On Monday, appointments at Santa Clara County testing sites were booked until the end of the week – a level of demand for COVID-19 testing never seen before, according to spokeswoman Betty Duong. In Contra Costa County, where appointments are also well made, officials have temporarily stopped offering flu shots at testing sites in order to free up more staff to increase COVID testing. Meanwhile, the website of a private company called Covid Clinic, which offers rapid tests for $ 150 at a site in Pleasant Hill, was down on Monday due to “unusually high traffic volume.”

“It’s certainly encouraging since we’ve always made testing part of the public’s routine,” said Duong. “But there is also some concern, given the timing, that people are only testing for vacation travel purposes.”

At Emmanuel Baptist Church on the east side of San Jose – the only site in Santa Clara County to offer walk-in testing on Monday – dozens of people lined up outside the church to pass COVID-19 testing before Thanksgiving. About three hours before the site’s scheduled closure, officials said there were no more tests for the day.

Rufina Perez, 60, who was able to get tested before the site sold out, said she was planning to have a little Thanksgiving reunion with family members at her home and wanted to know she didn’t was not infected before doing so.

“We want to make sure both of our families are okay before we meet because there are young children and old people,” she said. “Everyone tells us not to go out, so we keep our reunion modest. I think everyone should get tested to make sure he’s okay. “

If Californians ignore warnings to avoid traditional holiday celebrations, public health officials fear the state will suffer the same repercussions as Canada after the Thanksgiving celebration earlier this month. Almost two weeks after Thanksgiving, Canada’s two most populous provinces set records for the number of new COVID-19 cases recorded.

“With vaccines on the horizon, we have a light at the end of the tunnel,” Bibbins-Domingo said. “Our job is to figure out what we can do to get through this very risky time with Thanksgiving and the winter break to get to the end of this pandemic in the safest way possible.”