CORE expanding COVID-19 testing sites in LA amid Omicron surge

The nonprofit Community Organized Relief Effort, commonly called CORE, announced connected Wednesday, Dec. 22, that it volition grow COVID-19 investigating capableness successful Los Angeles amid surging cases brought connected by the Omicron variant.

Los Angeles County connected Wednesday reported 6,509 caller COVID-19 cases, much than treble Tuesday’s fig and “one of the steepest rises we’ve ever seen implicit the people of the pandemic,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. Another 16 COVID-related deaths were besides reported, and different 162 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant.

To accommodate request during the surge, CORE, co-founded by histrion Sean Penn, hopes to summation investigating to a minimum of 1,000 regular tests crossed its Los Angeles sites, up from an mean of 250 tests per time earlier the Omicron surge.

CORE said it volition conscionable request by adding 2 caller sites per week done the holidays. The nonprofit presently operates 11 investigating clinics, some fixed sites and mobile. It hopes to summation to 13 units earlier Dec. 30 and to 15 by the extremity of the archetypal week successful January.

Details astir wherever the caller sites volition beryllium located were not available. CORE is besides moving to connection accelerated investigating astatine 8 of the sites by the archetypal week of January.

“The caller surge of COVID-19 cases fueled by Omicron comes arsenic nary astonishment to america astatine CORE. Fewer than 3% of radical successful low-income countries person been vaccinated, and arsenic agelong arsenic our planetary leaders proceed to neglect to prioritize vaccinating the world’s astir underserved populations, caller variants volition look and surges volition follow,” CORE said successful a connection provided to City News Service.

“We are moving with our determination partners to guarantee that we supply entree to the astir marginalized and susceptible communities, wherever radical cannot spend to walk 3 hours successful enactment waiting to get tested,” the nonprofit added.

CORE’s partners see Pasadena Job Center, YMCA, Girls Club of LA, Los Angeles Health Services, Alma Family Center, the metropolis of Santa Fe Springs, Los Angeles County Libraries, Herald Christian Center, Union Station, Echo Park Residents, LA City Parks and Recreation, the Mayor’s Office, LA Apparel, NoHo Alliance, Graff Lab, Flow Health, Carbon Health, Fulgent, LA County and Curogram.

CORE was founded by Penn and Ann Lee successful effect to the 2010 earthquake successful Haiti. During the pandemic, it has partnered with the metropolis to supply escaped testing, vaccines and enactment services to susceptible communities successful Los Angeles. It expanded operations crossed the U.S. and internationally, and has administered much than 2.5 cardinal COVID-19 vaccines and much than 5.9 cardinal COVID-19 tests worldwide arsenic of December 2021. More accusation tin beryllium recovered astatine coreresponse.org.

Gov. Gavin Newsom connected Wednesday announced an effort to grow entree to investigating statewide, chiefly by expanding operating hours astatine state-run sites. The authorities has astir 6,300 investigating sites, helium said.

“We’ve been capable to find that 90% of Californians … person entree to a investigating tract that is wrong 30 minutes of their home, 60% wrong conscionable 15 minutes of their home. We person 257 OptumServe partners, and we are moving with them to widen the hours of operation, to grow them peculiarly wherever determination is precocious request and there’s immoderate bottlenecks,” Newsom said.

He urged residents who person been trying to procure hard-to-obtain take-home tests from pharmacies and different retail outlets to sojourn the state’s MyTurn website to get accusation astir disposable escaped testing.

People tin sojourn myturn.ca.gov for much information.