KPBS Midday Edition

San Diego Coronavirus Testing Capacity Ramps Up

By Maureen Cavanaugh / KPBS Midday Edition Co-Host, Marissa Cabrera / News Producer, KPBS Midday Edition

Published April 7, 2020 at 9:00 AM PDT

This story was published more than 4 years ago.

Coronavirus testing at the San Diego county lab, Feb. 28, 2020.

UC San Diego's coronavirus testing capacity is expected to increase from 700 to up to 1,500 tests a day by mid-April.

While California's COVID-19 virus testing capabilities lag behind other states, testing capacity across San Diego County is expanding.

Currently, the daily testing capacity for all hospitals in the county is upwards of 1,200 tests and that number is expected to rise significantly in the coming weeks, as reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune. UC San Diego Health expects to increase its in-house testing capacity from 700 to 1,500 tests per day by mid-April. So far, more than 18,000 tests have been administered to San Diegans.

UC San Diego is also part of a newly formed state task force on testing whose goal is to increase capacity in California five-fold. As of Tuesday 143,800 tests have been conducted in the state.

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Dr. David Pride, an infectious disease specialist and microbiology lab director at UC San Diego Health’s Center for Advanced Laboratory Medicine, joined Midday Edition on Tuesday to discuss ongoing efforts to ramp up testing of the virus that causes COVID-19.

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Maureen Cavanaugh

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Maureen Cavanaugh has been a familiar voice for KPBS listeners for more than 15 years, serving in a variety of capacities including announcer, host, and producer. As host of KPBS Midday Edition, Maureen has interviewed a wide range of notables, such as comedienne Sandra Bernhardt, actor John Lequizamo, author Chuck Palahniuk, composer Marvin Hamlisch, artist Robert Irwin, and designer Zandra Rhodes. But of all the interviews Maureen has conducted, her most special was with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. Before joining KPBS in 1997, she worked as a news anchor for KSDO and KOGO News Radio in San Diego. While working for commercial radio stations in San Diego and in Salt Lake City, Utah, Maureen reported on both hard news and lifestyle features. Maureen has received three "Golden Mike" awards from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California for economic reporting and breaking news. She has also received a "Best of Show" and “Best Radio Newscast” awards from the San Diego Press Club and the "Flo" Award from Public Radio Program Directors Association for Best Public Radio Announcer in a large market. Maureen is a native of Queens, New York, but after more than 20 years in San Diego she feels she qualifies as a real Southern Californian.

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Marissa Cabrera

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Marissa Cabrera worked as a producer for KPBS Midday Edition and had previously served as a Newscast Producer for KPBS' Morning Edition. Before joining KPBS she reported on Vatican affairs, social, and cultural issues in Rome, Italy. She also contributed to a documentary on sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Marissa has worked as a multimedia journalist at various news stations in San Diego and Monterey as well as Columbia, Missouri. Marissa graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism.

See stories by Marissa Cabrera