State Announces New Regulations to Help Understand COVID-19 Impacts

California’s Department of Public Health announced this week that it will now require providers and laboratories performing COVID-19 tests to expand the data they are reporting. The new regulations will continue to require the reporting of race and ethnicity data and now will require reporting a patient’s gender identity and sexual orientation. Expanding reporting will help to understand how COVID-19 impacts various communities. If you test positive for COVID-19, San Mateo County wants to remind you that public health workers will contact you to ensure you have everything you need to stay home safely and prevent exposure to others.