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OROVILLE — The Butte County Department of Health received a $250,000 donation from the North Valley Community Foundation on Monday to purchase lab equipment to test for COVID-19.

Butte County currently has no lab that can test for COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. The donation from the North Valley Community Foundation could change that, expanding the testing capacity throughout Northern California.

Currently, local health care providers are collecting specimens from patients with severe symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and sending them as far as Shasta County and Sacramento County to be tested in commercial or public labs. Results can take several days to come back.

Danette York, the director for Butte County Public Health, said in a press release that “equipping the Public Health lab with COVID-19 testing capabilities will expedite lab turnaround times for Butte County.”

Butte County had no confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Monday.

But it was unclear how many individuals have been tested for the novel coronavirus or how many are waiting for test results. The department of Public Health does not receive all negative results.

It was also unclear how many have requested testing but have not been able to get tested because they do not fit the current California Department of Public Health criteria.

Butte County is likely to get positive cases as testing ramps up and the spread of the virus continues, said Andy Miller, the county’s health officer, on Friday. He urged precautionary measures like personal hygiene and social distancing.

The North Valley Community Foundation’s board approved the donation over the weekend. David Little, vice president of the foundation, said that the gift lets Butte County order the equipment as soon as Monday.

Butte County Public Health was not able to provide answers to questions about the equipment in time for publication.

County staff had originally requested money for the equipment and also for additional staff to distribute information to the public and help train other health workers, said Little. The donation is expected to be able to cover all those needs, though it has some flexibility to it.

The North Valley Community Foundation is setting up a new Coronavirus (COVID-19) Rapid Response Fund for Local Nonprofits and Agencies. The pot of money is separate from its funds designated for Camp Fire relief and recovery, including the Butte Strong Fund. The focus will be on food security and health care for senior citizens, children and people experiencing homelessness.

“We have seen firsthand how our communities can selflessly and wholeheartedly respond to a crisis,” said Alexa Benson-Valavanis, the president and CEO of NVCF, in a statement. “Although no one could have fathomed another crisis arriving so soon, we have no doubt that our communities will make it through the COVID-19 pandemic by coming together.”