California Coronavirus Testing Task Force

In April, Governor Gavin Newsom established the California COVID-19 Testing Task Force to quickly and significantly increase the state’s COVID-19 testing capacity. The Task Force works to ensure that every Californian who needs a test can get one. The task force is co-lead by Dr. Gil Chavez with the California Department of Public Health and Dr. Bechara Choucair with Kaiser Permanente.

Overarching mission

As part of California’s broader response to COVID-19, the Testing Task Force seeks to reduce transmission of COVID-19 and support public health by improving accessibility, equity, timeliness, and sustainability of testing.



Group Testing Guidance (PDF)

Role of Testing Task Force

Guide the use and operations of limited number of state-based testing sites

Share information and track progress on testing and testing gaps

Bring together experts to develop guidance to enable better testing

Drive targeted initiatives to improve testing access, timeliness, and equity

Provide informational resources to Californians and other partners and stakeholders (e.g., local health jurisdictions)

How Testing Data is Tracked

Most local health departments report COVID-19 test results via the California Reportable Disease Information Exchange (CalREDIE), a system managed by CDPH. Labs and local health departments are required to report both positive and negative COVID-19 results. This daily, point-in-time data is collected in CalREDIE each afternoon and reported to the public the following day. The Task Force is working to that data reported remains uniform and timely.