Two Monterey County COVID-19 testing sites close due to staff illness

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION) Monterey County Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno says there were closures at two COVID-19 testing sites after reports of illness among people staffing them.

An Optum Serve site closed in Soledad on New Year's Eve, but it is not known how long it was closed, and a Castroville Optum Serve site was reportedly closed on Dec. 29 and Jan. 2.

Moreno said some of the people staffing the sites called in saying they were not well, called in sick or called to say they had tested positive for COVID-19. He said COVID-19 is impacting every sector, including health service systems.

"I hope that our Optum Serve testing staff are doing better and improving, but I also ask for a little bit of understanding from those of us that are out there getting tested," he said.

Moreno said that some people with testing appointments had arrived to find that the sites had been closed. He said officials are asking the state to make changes to Optum Serve's staffing model so the sites can stay open, even if one or more people staffing it get sick.

The people who called out were replaced by people at staffing companies Optum Serve uses.