L. A. County officials have said that testing capacity is continuing to expand, but limited availability has stymied those seeking to be tested for weeks.
After going to a socially distanced gathering late last month, Harrison Faigen wanted to get a coronavirus test.
He waited about a week after the June 26 party, knowing that officials have said it takes time for a viral load to appear in a person’s system after potential exposure.
Faigen tried for two days over the weekend to land an appointment, which he eventually secured for Monday. He was luckier than a lot of residents in Los Angeles County, where testing has dramatically dipped of late.
Although public health officials have said that testing capacity is expanding, limited availability has stymied those seeking to be tested for weeks.
“There continues to be high demand for testing services,” Los Angeles County Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly said Monday.
The site of the county’s largest COVID-19 testing facility in Los Angeles Dodger Stadium — resumed testing Tuesday after a four-day closure during the July Fourth holiday. But same-day and next-day appointments are currently unavailable.
That’s also the case at city- and county-run testing sites throughout the area and at other venues, such as CVS pharmacies, which are now listed on the county’s website but do not currently have availability for individuals who are asymptomatic, those without underlying health conditions or those who don’t work in high-risk environments.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles County announced that it is committing $400,000 to support staffing-related costs at testing sites operated by the nonprofit organization Community Organized Relief Effort. The group, known as CORE and founded by actor Sean Penn, has been working with L. A. officials to run operations at some coronavirus drive-through testing facilities since April.
