Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced on April 29 that free COVID-19 testing now will be available for all Los Angeles County residents, but county officials disputed that a day later.
Garcetti said that people can register for testing at 34 sites throughout the county, although priority will be given to those who are experiencing symptoms.
“So long as COVID-19 spreads, we have to scale up our response — and because this disease can be a silent killer, we have carefully built the capacity to get more people tested,” he said. “No one should have to wait, wonder or risk infecting others. Don’t leave it to chance. Schedule a test.”
Garcetti added that the city can test up to 18,000 people per day.
“This is a really important step to prepare for other steps forward in the weeks to come,” he said.
However, county officials said in an April 30 press briefing that those who are asymptomatic, low-risk and don’t work in essential jobs shouldn’t be tested. Asymptomatic people can register for testing only in the city of Los Angeles.
“There is no scientific evidence that would clinically indicate a need to test low-risk, asymptomatic individuals, outside of certain scenarios, such as people who reside in institutions, in congregate living settings — including people experiencing homelessness — [and] those who can’t obey the stay-at-home orders,” County Department of Health Services Dr. Christina Ghaly said.
County officials also announced that there were 1,541 new COVID-19 county cases on April 30 and 56 new deaths, putting the county’s respective totals at 22,485 and 1,056.
