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Contra Costa is first county in Bay Area to offer testing to anyone even if they don’t have symptoms

Contra Costa County will now offer an appointment for COVID-19 testing to any resident who believes they need one, regardless of insurance, ability to pay or whether they have symptoms or not.

Residents can make an appointment to visit one of eight sites throughout the county. The county is operating five drive-through testing sites while the state provides walk-up testing locations at three additional locations. Testing is available by appointment only. Call 1-844-421-0804 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily for an appointment at any Contra Costa site.

The increased access to community testing will help Contra Costa County reach its goal for easing social restrictions in the current shelter-in-place order, which lasts through May. Previously, tests were only offered for patients with symptoms of illness.

“We need to test many more county residents to get a better sense of how widespread COVID-19 is in our community, and to help prevent its spread,” said Candace Andersen, chair of the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors. “Testing will also give us a better idea of when we can relax the current health orders.”

Between 300 and 400 patients are tested daily in the county. Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) hopes to test about five times as many people.

All CCHS-run sites offer drive-through testing by appointment only. These sites are located in Antioch, Concord, Martinez, Pittsburg, San Pablo and San Ramon. Patients must visit these sites in their vehicles, as testing is done in the car.

Three new state-run sites also opened on Wednesday in Brentwood, Pinole and Walnut Creek, accepting walk-in patients by appointment only.

Appointments can be made by calling 1-844-421-0804. For appointments at county-run sites, a screener will take the information necessary to begin the process. Callers will then get a call back from a health professional during which an appointment will be scheduled.

There is no up-front cost for testing. County residents do not need medical insurance to get tested. However, if you have health insurance, your insurance will be billed.

While you don’t need symptoms to get tested, symptoms that may warrant a test include cough, shortness of breath, fever, chills, fatigue, muscle ache, sore throat, headache, vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, recent loss of taste or smell, or confusion, particularly in older adults.

Visit coronavirus.cchealth.org/testing for details about community testing, including site locations.

New Antioch Police Officer Dustin Dibble is given his oath of office by Police Chief Tammany Brooks on Monday, May 4, 2020 in the Antioch Police Facility Community Room. Photo by APD.

By Antioch Police Department

After completing a very extensive hiring process (written and physical tests, interviews, background checks, medical and psychological exams), entry level officer applicants are sent to a Police Academy. The Academy is 40 + hours a week for 6 months. Many people do not make it through to graduation day (some quit after the first day), but when they do, it’s quite an accomplishment.

Usually graduation is a huge event, attended by Police Chief’s and the Sheriff as well as friends and family members of the graduate. A swearing-in follows with a badge pinning and the newly appointed officer meeting many of their new co-workers.

Class 189 at the Law Enforcement Training Center was different. So very different. They were halfway through the Academy when the COVID-19 pandemic began. They were forced to quickly change the format of the Academy so they could continue attending. There would be no huge graduation or public badge pinning, just a quiet acknowledgement of a job well done and a private oath in front of the Chief.

With that, we would like to welcome Officer Dustin Dibble, who was sworn in on Monday, May 4, 2020, to the Antioch Police Department Family. Here is a little info about Dustin:

Dustin was born in Manteca and raised in Tracy, California. When Dustin was growing up, he was very active with travel baseball and spent a lot of his free time outdoors. He graduated from Tracy High School in 2014 and went on to receive an AA in Social Sciences from Folsom Lake College in 2018. Dustin was raised around family members and close friends who worked in law enforcement and admired the positive impact they had on people’s lives. For this reason, he chose this career. Dustin loves what the Antioch Police Department stands for and was immediately drawn to the city. He is excited for a long career ahead serving the community of Antioch.

So, if you see Officer Dibble around town, please give him a hearty and maybe a “congratulations!” He has definitely earned it! According to Police Chief Tammany Brooks, that brings the total sworn officers on the force to 114.

“On Monday the 18th we’ll be at 115,” he shared. “We already have two more that started the academy, last week and three additional laterals in our hiring process.”

“I’m expecting a couple of medical retirements, shortly. But this should keep us at or near fully staffed, even when they leave,” Brooks added.

Photo by APD.

By Antioch Police Department

Did you know APD has three different shifts for patrol operations? Our shifts are normally 10 hours and provide for some overlap to ensure maximum coverage.

On Saturday, APD Swing Shift was conducting crime suppression efforts in response to citizen complaints of drug dealing and other illegal activity in the Sycamore area. A little after 7 pm, officers saw three individuals dealing drugs in a shopping center near L Street and Sycamore. Officers swooped-in and detained the involved people in a vehicle before they could slip away. A search of the vehicle revealed a loaded pistol under the seat, along with marijuana and promethazine cough syrup for sale. All three were arrested and another illegally possessed gun was taken off the street.

Promethazine cough syrup, known by the street-lingo “Purple Drank” and “Sizzurp,” is a commonly abused opioid-based controlled substance, especially among our youth. When mixed with alcohol or flavored sodas, it is said to have mind-altering effects. In 2017, the United States Department of Health and Human Services reported 11,000 emergency room visits related to the misuse of this drug. Certain brands of this syrup are known to sometimes sell for thousands of dollars on the street.

If you are struggling with drug addiction, or know someone who is, there is help available. The US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) maintains a website and toll-free hotline with addiction program resources across the country:

https://findtreatment.gov or 1-800-662-HELP (4357)

Opioid addiction has torn apart many families and destroyed many lives across our country. Our officers carry lifesaving “Narcan” to help reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. APD is here for you even if you struggle with these problems. Please help us stop drug dealing in our neighborhoods by reporting suspicious behavior, which you can do so anonymously by calling (925) 778-2441 or texting 274637 (CRIMES) with the keyword ANTIOCH. #AntiochStrong   #AntiochPD   #APDSwingShift

Photos by APD.

By Antioch Police Department

Are you ready for another Chronicle of Canine Purcy???

Officer Amiri and his partner Purcy were on-duty Saturday night in the area of L and West 7th Streets. At about 3 am, they saw a motorist driving down the road talking on a cellphone. Said driver wasn’t using the hands-free, so Officer Amiri (or was it Purcy?) flipped on the red and blues to have a conversation. During the chat, it was learned said driver didn’t have a license either. Purcy asked if he could sniff around and alerted to the presence of narcotics from inside the vehicle. Our best pals at the Pittsburg Police Department sent us Officer Oreja (also a canine handler) to help with a search of our license-lacking lady. What did we find? Glad you asked, because it turned out she possessed numerous ecstasy pills, cocaine, and heroin for sale. A reservation was made to shelter in-place at the county jail and free shuttle service was provided.

Did you know the average canine’s sense of smell is tens of thousands of times more sensitive than our own? Canine Purcy is a five-year-old Belgian Malinois who came to us from the Netherlands. He is trained in apprehension, tracking/trailing, and narcotics detection. He’s also a really really good boy!

Police canines are a force multiplier and an indispensable part of our mission to PROTECT ANTIOCH! Remember to give Purcy an “Atta boy!” if you see him sniffing around your neighborhood! #CaninePurcy #AntiochStrong #EastCountyStrong #AntiochPD #PittsburgPD #AntiochPDK9

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier speaks at his 100th Town Hall meeting at Concord High School on Nov. 7, 2019. Photo from his Congressional Facebook page

Washington, DC – “We are so pleased to announce that this weekend, our dad returned home from the hospital. He’s eager to get back to California, but he’ll continue his recovery in Washington, DC until his doctors determine it’s safe to fly,” wrote his sons Tristan and Tucker DeSaulnier in a press release on Monday from the Congressman’s office.

“We want to say thank you, on our Dad’s behalf, to everyone who has reached out and everyone who has been pulling for him. Your thoughts, prayers, and compassion have helped sustain him throughout this experience. We are also eternally grateful to the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff who helped save our Dad’s life,” the continued. “While he’s made truly remarkable progress and has come so far, our Dad still has work to do and we appreciate his friends and constituents affording him time and support as the next phase of his recovery begins.”

DeSaulnier represents California’s Congressional 11th District in the U.S. House of Representatives which includes portions of Antioch and most of Contra Costa County

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