Sacramento, CA – Senator Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Jim Wood have been diligently working with county officials to ensure rural Californians are not left behind in coronavirus testing deserts as the state boosts the number of testing sites. 

Currently, there are over 700,000 Californians who still aren’t within an hour’s drive of a testing site after a commitment was made by the state that all Californians will be within a one hour drive of a site. Obviously, this is unacceptable to both the Assemblymember and Senator.

Senator McGuire and Assemblymember Wood have been working hand in hand over the past several weeks with county officials and the California Department of Public Health to get a state testing site secured for local residents. 

“If we are truly going to be a California For All, we need Testing For All,” Senator Mike McGuire said. “The road to reopening our economy and our schools is built off of data, science and a robust testing program in all corners of this state. Assemblymember Wood and I have been working overtime to ensure testing equity and additional state testing sites on the North Coast will be a huge boost. We are grateful to the County, California Department of Public Health and Governor Newsom for their partnership with this critical initiative.”

“In rural California, testing has been virtually unavailable,” said Assemblymember Jim Wood. “Testing and timely processing and reporting results are absolutely necessary to protect people’s health and desperately needed by local governments so they can make smart decisions about how to move forward in providing guidance to our local businesses, schools and other services.”

A state sponsored testing site will be up and running in Mendocino County soon. Specific details and logistics on the site are currently being organized between the County and the California Department of Public Health. More information will be provided from the County of Mendocino in the coming days.

“Thank you Senator McGuire and Assemblyman Wood for your advocacy on Mendocino County’s behalf to secure testing capacity for our community,” said Mendocino County Board of Supervisors Chair John Haschak. “CEO Carmel Angelo, Health Officer Dr. Doohan and our employees at Public Health have been working incredibly hard alongside our State representatives to ensure testing access for our residents. This testing capacity is vital to move forward with reopening businesses and rebuilding our local economy.”

“Senator McGuire and Assemblyman Wood are heroes for our region. They are always there to help Mendocino County. Many thanks to them for the additional testing that Governor Newsom will provide to our county,” Mendocino County CEO Carmel Angelo said. “And thank you to all the people in Mendocino County for answering the Call to Action and letting their voices be heard. Mendocino County residents are part of this solution. Thank you!”

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