When Hayward Fire Chief Garrett Contreras saw that San Jose had to quarantine many of its firefighters after they were exposed to coronavirus, he thought it could happen to his city, too.
“We started to get concerned about taking care of our people,” he said. “Once I realized that there was a lack of testing for sick people in general, I realized there was a broader problem.”
In response, Contreras has rallied community members and a private company to make sure Hayward is keeping track of its coronavirus outbreak. KQED has learned the city will open a testing facility tomorrow geared towards first responders and health-care workers. They will also test members of the public who are symptomatic.
“Suppression through isolation after testing, or SIT, as we call it, is an approach that has proven to be most effective in countries on the leading edge of this pandemic,” Contreras said.