COVID Testing: San Francisco Opening Holiday Pop-Up Testing Site In Mission District
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A holiday pop-up COVID testing site is being established in San Francisco's Mission District to reach community members disproportionately affected by the surging coronavirus pandemic.
On Wednesday and Thursday, the city will offer free, no appointment COVID tests to some 700 people a day at the 24th and Mission St. transit hub. The site was being made possible by reallocating resources and staffing from the CityTestSF site at the Embarcadero, according to city's COVID Command Center and the Department of Public Health.
The pop-up site will also offer Spanish, Chinese and English speaking staffers and results are to be reported within 24 to 48 hours.
"We need to ensure that our resources are allocated equitably and effectively in order to slow the spread of this virus," said Mayor London Breed in a press release. "By standing up a testing site at 24th and Mission streets that is easily accessible, we are better serving the Latino community and our essential workers, who have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 health pandemic. By meeting people where they are with critical resources like testing, we can better protect the health of all of our communities during this current surge, which will help us safely reopen our City."
Breed made the announcement on the same day she and city Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax urged San Franciscans to continue to stay home, wear masks and avoid gatherings amid a massive surge in COVID cases, warning that another post-holiday surge in the current situation would be catastrophic.
"Expanding low barrier testing resources in communities with high prevalence of the virus like the Mission neighborhood is a top priority," said Colfax in a prepared statement. "Communities of color, particularly the Latino community, and essential workers continue to shoulder a disproportionate burden of COVID 19. Today's announcement plays an important role in addressing these ongoing disparities and supporting the populations most at risk."
Health officials said the city's Latino community have been carrying one of the highest levels of infection, with a new case positivity rate of 112.68 per 10,000 residents compared to a citywide average of 72.17.
In addition, while the Latino community makes up 15 percent of San Francisco's population, Latinos currently make up 44 percent of the city's positive COVID-19 cases.
"We have been on the frontlines of this battle and have seen the painful disparities that have existed due to a legacy of inequalities and polices that have negatively impacted our community," said Jon Jacobo, Health Committee Chair with the Latino Task Force in a prepared statement. "We are appreciative that the City is moving to partner with us and uphold our Test to Community Care model for the people who have been hit the hardest."
The 24th & Mission St. testing sire will be open from 7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday December 23 and Thursday December 24.
Additional testing locations in San Francisco can be found at sf.gov/gettestedsf.
