Long Beach over the weekend more than tripled its capacity for coronavirus testing with appointments now available at four drive-up testing sites, officials said Monday.
Mayor Robert Garcia in a news conference said the city now has the capacity to perform more than 500 tests daily at four locations:
- Jordan High School, 6500 Atlantic Ave.
- Long Beach City College – Pacific Coast Campus, 1305 E. Pacific Coast Highway
- Cabrillo High School, 2001 Santa Fe Ave.
- St. Mary Medical Center, 1050 Linden Ave.
The ramp up in testing comes after a slow initial start, largely because of a lack of tests and supplies. In the beginning of the pandemic, Long Beach was slow to receive test kits because federal and state officials prioritized other jurisdictions that had more confirmed cases.
Garcia said the city over the weekend tested roughly 400 people and that many appointments are now available, especially at low-traffic locations like Cabrillo High, which saw only 40 tests over the weekend.
“We still have a lot of capacity at the Cabrillo High School site in West Long Beach,” he said. “So there is capacity and we want folks to sign up for testing.”
He encouraged people to make appointments through the city’s website. Those without internet access can call 562-570-4636.
On Monday, city officials reported that two more people—both with underlying health conditions and connected to long-term care facilities—have died from complications of COVID-19, bringing the city’s total to 24.
The overall total of positive cases was 464, up from 457 on Sunday. Of those, 125 have been connected to seven long-term care facilities.
Of the 24 people who have died, all had underlying health conditions and 19 were connected to long-term care facilities like nursing homes, which continue to see surges in infection rates in both residents and staff.