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LA County Updates: 3 Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Sites, 46 New Cases
Los Angeles County public health officials and political leaders gave their daily update on the response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Here are some of the announcements made today:
- L.A. County has been piloting drive-thru specimen collection at three different sites.
The sites are open to individuals who "have a provider directive to get tested," said L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. She said the goal is to make it easer for those people to find a place in their community where they can have a specimen collected without having to get out of their car.
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Specimens are being analyzed at county, commercial and CDC labs and generally require a couple days turnaround before results come back. Ferrer says the pilot seems to be working and that the drive-thru process should help increase the county's capacity.
- 46 new cases have been confirmed in L.A. County, bringing the total to 190. That includes the city of Long Beach and makes 96 new cases in the last 48 hours.
Locations of #COVID19 cases in LA County.
— Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) March 18, 2020
**Please do not assume that one location is safer than the other. Cases are occurring across LA County, so please stay home whenever possible and practice social distancing if you must go out.** #StaySafeStayHome pic.twitter.com/Lad5LLWQCq
- We're likely going to see an increase in cases for the next one to three months, but that doesn't mean social distancing isn't working.
- The health officer's orders to close bars, wineries and nightclubs and limit restaurants to delivery and take-out only are legally binding. Health inspectors are out checking and will cite violators.
This story will be updated.
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This work is only possible with community support. Every investigation, service guide, and story is made possible by people like you who believe that local news is a public good and that everyone deserves access to trustworthy local information.
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