COMMUNITY NEWS
Pop-up COVID-19 Tests in Aptos
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By Jondi Gumz
ooking for a convenient COVID-19 billing will be handled by the CARES Act. test site? This test is a RT-PCR, which means Look no further — a new test site just opened in the parking lot of Twin reverse transcription polymerase chain Lakes Church in Aptos and will be open reaction, and results will be posted in the from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Mondays and HIPAA-compliant portal in 48-72 hours. You administer the test your self Tuesdays through December. The provider is Senneca Diagnostics of through your nose. The visit for sample collection takes about 20 minutes. San Francisco. “It’s much easier,” said Dana Welle, Dana Welle, her daughter Karsen Welle and Dana Ramsey, the three staff on comparing it to the one that reaches up into your sinus. “And it’s hand Monday, attend less risky for anyone Twin Lakes Church This test is a RT-PCR, which at the test site. And it’s and made the conmeans reverse transcription as accurate as a nasal nection for Senneca polymerase chain reaction, swab.” Diagnostics. and results will be posted in The test has A few important the HIPAA-compliant portal in emergency use points to know: 48-72 hours. authorization but not Tests are by formal approval from appointment only. Go to www.sennecadx.com/community, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Senneca Dx first got involved in testing create an user account and then pick a time at nursing homes, where residents are at risk slot. If you have insurance, bring your of COVID-19, in June, then expanded to help insurance card. If you don’t have insurance, businesses make return-to-work plans. n
Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz
Dana Ramsey, Dana Welle, and Karsen Welle are staff at the SennecaDX.com pop-up test site for COVID-19 in the Twin Lakes Church parking lot in Aptos.
RTC Report Favors Electric Passenger Rail; Comments Due Nov. 27
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he Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission invites the public to provide input for Milestone 3 of the Transit Corridor Alternatives Analysis through an online public open house Nov. 6 through Nov. 27. The proposed locally preferred alternative in the 282-page report is electric passenger rail. This choice was guided by performance analysis, input from the commission, RTC advisory committees, partner agencies, community organizations, stakeholders, and members of the public, according to the report. Input received from public and stakeholder engagement will be “fully considered” by the project team and RTC in making its final decision of a locally preferred alternative, according to the RTC. A decision on whether the rail option will be electric commuter rail or electric light rail is not recommended as part of this study. The infrastructure needed for either rail option is similar so deferring this decision will maintain flexibility for future decisions, the study says, while clean energy rail technologies advance. A decision on different electric rail vehicle
types and sizes would be better studied in the preliminary engineering and environmental analysis phase, according to the study. This year-long study is evaluating high-capacity public transit alternatives to provide an integrated transit network for Santa Cruz County using all or part of the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line. Intercounty and interregional connections to Monterey, Gilroy, the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond will be considered. Since June, the Regional Transportation Commission has been evaluating a short list of alternatives narrowed and is now ready to share its conclusions publicly. To offer convenient participation while social distancing, RTC is hosting the open house where the public can review information and submit comments. One opportunity to interact directly with the transit team during live chat sessions took place Nov. 12 and another will be Wednesday, Nov. 18, from 6-7:30 p.m. n ••• The deadline to comment is Nov. 27. To view details, visit www.sccrtc.org/transitcorridoraa.
www.tpgonlinedaily.com Aptos Times / November 15th 2020 / 9
