LA County Announces Details Of Efforts To Expand Testing Capacity By 65% To Address "Disparities In High-Need Communities"
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) -- Los Angeles health officials on Wednesday announced details of plans to expand coronavirus testing capacity by more than 65% "to address disparities in high-need communities."
The county health department cited "data showing a disproportionately higher burden of COVID-related illness in communities of color and those with higher rates of poverty."
Officials also announced the allocation of $4 million from a Center for Disease Control and Prevention grant to support outreach and education and information about coronavirus resources to community members.
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"The data collected from County-supported testing sites points to a concerning trend in higher test positivity rate by race and economic status and higher mortality rate in Black and Latinx communities, where the age-adjudged mortality rate is twice that of whites," the county said in a statement.
The statement continued, "Test positivity is an important indicator of the trajectory of the pandemic and the ability to provide enough testing needed to keep transmission low. The rate of test positivity is higher among the Latinx community than among any other racial or ethnic group in L.A. County; data also shows a direct correlation between poverty level and test positivity."
Among the changes L.A. County officials want to make to address the disparities are adding six new sites in high-need areas including Montebello, South Gate, Azusa, Panorama City, Compton and Downey/Norwalk, and expanding capacity at existing sites in Bellflower, Pomona, El Monte and East Los Angeles.
"When we look at areas of highest need, adding testing sites is only one piece of a broader approach and it doesn't stop there," said emergency room physician and Department of Health Services' Director of Language Access and Inclusion, Dr. Erika Flores Uribe. "We must couple that with funneled medical and social resources to close the disparity gap through highly targeted, layered, in-language and culturally responsive outreach and support."
To date, L.A. County public health has confirmed the highest number of daily new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations with 4,244 new cases and 2,103 people currently hospitalized. The countywide total during the pandemic is 140,307 positive cases and 3,894 deaths.
