Under Heavy Demand, Long Beach Restricts Who Can Get Tested for COVID-19
By Lita Martinez
Published Jul 14, 2020 5:47 PM
Support your source for local news!
The local news you read here every day is crafted for you, but right now, we need your help to keep it going. In these uncertain times, your support is even more important. Today, put a dollar value on the trustworthy reporting you rely on all year long. We can't hold those in power accountable and uplift voices from the community without your partnership.
Screenshot shows graphic of COVID-19 cases in Long Beach as of July 13. (Courtesy City of Long Beach)
New cases and hospitalizations for coronavirus are up and so is the demand for testing.
In Long Beach, more than 12,000 tests were administered last week, putting a strain on city-run test sites open to all, including those without symptoms.
Starting tomorrow, tests will be limited to Long Beach, Signal Hill, Lakewood, Paramount, and Compton residents. Long Beach Health and Human Services director Kelly Colopy said:
"People from other cities will be directed to county facility testing or other private testing options as they become available. So if you're signing up for a test in Long Beach, you must be from Long Beach or one of those other cities."
Screenshot shows how the rise in positive cases in Long Beach compares to the city of L.A., L.A. County and statewide. (Courtesy City of Long Beach)
Colopy says Long Beach will open 1,000 appointment slots every day, with the capacity to administer as many as 1,400. On average 15% of those tested in Long Beach proved positive for the virus in the last seven days. That's the highest rate since the start of the pandemic, and higher than the 9% average for LA County.
Fentanyl and other drugs fuel record deaths among people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County. From 2019 to 2021, deaths jumped 70% to more than 2,200 in a single year.
