Los Angeles makes coronavirus testing available
On Wednesday, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that free testing would be made available to anyone who would like to test for coronavirus. Yahoo Finance’s Melody Hahm joins The Final Round panel to discuss Los Angeles’ latest developments in coronavirus testing.
Video Transcript
MYLES UDLAND: And speaking of testing and what we need to do to get some of our cities up and running, Melody Hahm, some news-- positive news, I think, coming out of Los Angeles, though we'll see just exactly how expansive this program the city announced today can be in terms of getting everyone who wants a test a test for COVID-19.
MELODY HAHM: And, Myles, we're already seeing it because Mayor Eric Garcetti announced this yesterday at a press conference that everyone living in LA County would be able to get a free test to determine whether they have coronavirus or not.
I will have to say it is through a web portal. I tested it out last night. I was unable to get a slot because right now the thinking is anyone who is asymptomatic should be able to get the test as well just to figure out if they have been exposed to it or if they're likely to pass it on. The thing is right now when you toggle on the website, if you say that you are not showing any symptoms, you are not given any sort of offerings.
Currently there are 34 test sites within the county that are offering kits. Garcetti is saying that once all of these operations are up and running at full capacity, they could be testing up to 18,000 people a day. And I actually want to do a live hit on this in the future, but I am not symptomatic, so at this current moment in time I'm not able to schedule a slot.
The website is coronavirus.lacity.org/testing for those of you who do want to check it out. And to your point, it is the first major city here in the United States to offer this. There is a small town in Marin County that did pilot a trial several weeks ago. So California is leading the way on this front. And Garcetti did say that there are plenty of volunteers who are stepping up to the plate to be able to conduct these swap tests.
MYLES UDLAND: Yeah, I think it's interesting. You know, Melody, we're so focused on getting tests now, but we have to have this infrastructure for the time when we do go back to work and someone we know gets sick, and then you have to go get tested. How quickly can you do that? So it's interesting to kind of think about where this comes and the evolution of the virus.
Presumably fewer people-- not presumably. The data show fewer people are getting sick on a daily basis, but this is about how we get back to normal life. And I think quite a few challenges there.
MELODY HAHM: Yeah, and it's something that we've mentioned on the show repeatedly, right? Of course the case count will go up as more people get tested. As you get more information, you understand how many people are actually infected. So I think, yeah, as Garcetti was making those comments yesterday, the count did go up, and the death toll currently stands at 1,056 people here in LA County alone.
MYLES UDLAND: All right, Melody Hahm with the latest on what's happening out on the West Coast.
