By Ronald Penh
As cities throughout Los Angeles County slowly begin to reopen, free COVID-19 testing is provided as the threat of the virus still remains.
For the general public, free testing is available for all individuals whether or not you are showing symptoms for COVID-19. However, those that are showing symptoms, are front line workers, or are more at risk will be tested at a higher priority. Next or same day priority will be held for individuals that are front line workers or that show symptoms such as coughing, fever, difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell.
Front line workers include first responders, critical government personnel, health care professionals, grocery store workers, delivery workers, ride-share and public transit drivers, credentialed members of the media, and construction workers.
At risk individuals include those that are over the age of 65 and those with underlying health conditions. Testing for individuals without symptoms will be dependent upon available resources.
Testing is done by appointment only which can be made through the Los Angeles County COVID-19 website https://lacovidprod.service-now.com/rrs.
Free testing is also available and prioritized for front line workers regardless if they are showing symptoms or not.
Workers from any of the front line categories can make an appointment through the website https://lacovidprod.service-now.com/rrs_first_responders.
Testing is done by collecting a mouth swab that the patient can perform themselves. Testing is available only for individuals that are residents of LA County. To confirm eligibility and testing appointment availability, you can visit the website Coronavirus.LACity.org/Testing.
There are 6 COVID-19 testing locations that are within 10 miles of the city of Gardena which are:
South Bay Galleria
1815 Hawthorne Blvd.
Redondo Beach, CA 90278
Charles R. Drew University Campus
1731 E. 120th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90059
The Forum
3900 W. Manchester Blvd.
Inglewood, CA 90305
AltaMed Medical and Dental Group – South Gate
8627 Atlantic Ave.
South Gate, CA 90280
PIH Health City of Bell
6410-6480 Atlantic Ave.
Bell, CA 90203
Long Beach City College
1305 E. Pacific Coast Hwy.
Long Beach, CA 90806
All of these locations are drive-thru only.
You can search for more testing locations within LA County through the https://lacovidprod.service-now.com/rrs_first_responders website for first responders and https://lacovidprod.service-now.com/rrs for all other LA County residents.
