New COVID-19 testing centers open in South LA to combat rising mortality rates in underserved areas
By Torres Chi, Jamie Park and Savannah-Rose Thomas
Two new mobile coronavirus testing sites opened Wednesday for individuals living in and around South Los Angeles and the Eastside in an effort to curb rising mortality rates in the region.
The sites will test 250 people per day between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and be open to the general public by appointment, said site manager Sheila Young, an assistant professor at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, one of the testing sites.
The project relies on funding from the state and county.
According to L.A. County Supervisor Supervisor Hilda Solis this new measure was put into place after statistics from other cities suggested that residents living in lower-income, underserved neighborhoods experience a higher mortality rate from the COVID-19 virus. While data and statistics for L.A. County are still being collected, health and city officials worry about the exposure individuals living in underserved areas of Los Angeles have had, she said.
“We must collect better data to identify and address the disparities in LA county,” Solis said at a press conference Tuesday.
In a separate call Thursday, L.A. County Public Health Director Dr. Barbara Ferrer revealed that preliminary results correlating race to COVID-19 showed that African Americans had a higher death rate than other races and ethnicities. This may be due in part to the fact that more affluent individuals have easier access to coronavirus testing than those in underserved areas, Ferrer said.
Young and her team saw how the lack of free testing available was affecting less affluent members of the South L.A. community. Areas like South L.A. looked great for COVID-19 testing because far fewer individuals could afford to get tested, she said. Young then pushed to see more testing done in the area.
“We saw [that] the maps of COVID-19 positive sites [were in] very high-income areas,” Young said. “It wasn’t a question of ‘Oh, there’s more COVID-19 cases’ or ‘COVID-19 is more rampant in those areas.’ They had the ability to get testing done.”
In addition to the new testing sites, Los Angeles officials also plan to expand homeless shelters and provide more sanitary supplies to homeless populations that may be at higher risk of contracting coronavirus.
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority’s interim executive director stated in a daily press conference Wednesday that this new plan, Project Key Room, will create three tiers of housing for homeless individuals, and plans on adding as many as 15,000 new beds in hotels and motels that can provide nurses and 24-hour security to assist the homeless population.
County officers will continue to add and adjust their plans to deal with the pandemic as the situation develops. Individuals looking for free testing are expected to either register through the Los Angeles County website or call the mayor’s office at (213) 978–1028.
