The nasal swab testing process is expected to take around 10 minutes.

Early Tuesday morning, the Crenshaw Christian Center in South Los Angeles opened its doors as a testing site for COVID-19.

The testing process, in which those being tested will undergo a nasal swab, is expected to take around 10 minutes.

Individuals eligible for testing at this time include:

  • Those with symptoms who are 65 and older
  • Those with symptoms who have underlying chronic health conditions
  • Those who are subject to a mandatory 14 day quarantine period due to a confirmed COVID-19 exposure (with more than 7 days of quarantine remaining)

For more questions about testing, please visit our COVID-19 FAQ for answers to frequently asked questions.

March 23, 2020

Councilmember Ryu, Council President Martinez & Supervisor Barger Announce New Coronavirus Tests
20,000 New Tests to Be Deployed Immediately

LOS ANGELES – Councilmember Ryu, alongside County Board of Supervisors Board Chair Kathryn Barger and Council President Nury Martinez, announced partnerships today with Seegene Technologies, Inc., a South Korea-based test kit manufacturer, to purchase and process 20,000 new tests for the Coronavirus. The City and County leaders used a combined $1.25 million of County funds and discretionary funds from Council President Martinez and Councilmemebr Ryu to purchase the 20,000 tests immediately, while a larger contract is worked out.

“We cannot beat the Coronavirus without more testing, isolation and treatment. Until then, we are operating in the dark,” Councilmember Ryu, who Chairs the City Council Committee on Health, said. “Every minute counts in this crisis, and that’s why I have been working to secure contracts with test kit manufacturers worldwide and certified laboratories in California. Los Angeles isn’t waiting around – and I’m not either. I’m proud to partner with County leaders and Council President Martinez to secure more tests, expand lab capacity, and address critical material shortages to expand testing as quickly as possible.”

“One of our most immediate needs has been to ramp up testing capabilities throughout Los Angeles County,” said Supervisor Barger. “The announcement of these contracts opens up the opportunity for us to vastly scale up testing and then with proper diagnosis we can work to treat those patients who test positive. I am grateful to the City of Los Angeles, and Councilman David Ryu, for their partnership in this critical effort.”

“The ever-escalating depth of this crisis demands a full-scale response and I am proud to see the City and County of Los Angeles work hand-in-hand to secure these agreements to increase Los Angeles’ capacity to test for the novel Coronavirus,” said Los Angeles City Council President Nury Martinez. “We are also calling on Los Angeles-based manufacturers to come forward and help us ramp up locally on materials needed for the tests, including swabs and testing trays, as well as masks and gloves to keep our healthcare workers safe. We need everyone – government, residents and the private sector – working together to properly address this crisis with the speed and scale required.”

The first 20,000 tests will be directed toward first-responders and medical professionals on the frontline of addressing the Coronavirus pandemic in Los Angeles. As these tests are rolled out, a larger agreement with Seegene Technologies, Inc., will be worked out. Seegene has committed to provide 100,000 tests per week to Los Angeles. All tests will be made free to the public.

County leaders will also concurrently move to identify additional partners, like Seegene and Curative, Inc, a manufacturer based in San Dimas that also recently signed a contract with Los Angeles County, that have the capacity and capability to test for the Coronavirus. This way, Los Angeles can secure a continuous supply of test kits and expanded lab capacity to complete them. As of March 20, roughly 2,400 people had been tested in Los Angeles County.

However, increased testing requires more than just labs and test kits. Critical shortages remain in gloves, swabs, and other materials needed to complete testing for the Coronavirus. At today’s County briefing, Council President Martinez asked local Southern California manufacturers to work with local government to repurpose their production lines to make the materials needed to complete testing.

Councilmember Ryu secured the agreements with Seegene Technologies, Inc. with support from County Supervisor Board Chair Barger, Supervisor Hilda Solis, and City Council President Martinez. The City and County leaders are continuing to work together to identify more sites for testing, and ensure enough swabs, trays, and other materials are continuously available to complete as many tests as soon as possible

Seegene accounts for the majority of tests completed in South Korea. They currently produce 1 million test kits a week and are currently underway to increase production to 2 million a week. Their current local Coronavirus test processing capacity is 5,000 tests per day, and is currently underway to build a national network of laboratories to run 30,000 tests per day.

On March 16, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) changed its regulations to allow local jurisdictions more authority to test for the Coronavirus. Under the new regulations, any FDA approved Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA) certified laboratory with the ability to run high complexity testing using FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) validated protocols and methods can run a non-FDA approved Coronavirus test.

Find more information on the Coronavirus: https://corona-virus.la/

Translate »