Dodger Stadium: Free COVID testing site reopens amid fears of possible winter surge
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Health-care startup Curative has re-launched its COVID-19 testing site at Dodger Stadium, the company announced.
The site began offering free, drive-thru PCR nasal tests on Monday. People can access the site by entering through the downtown Gate E entrance.
Curative previously partnered with CORE for a mass COVID-19 testing site that operated during the pandemic, but Curative's Pasquale Gianni said the new site is operated by Curative alone.
The site is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week, with a brief closure from noon to 12:30 p.m. for lunch. On Tuesday afternoon, more than 400 appointment slots were available to book each day through Sunday.
Test results are expected within one to two days of the swabs arriving at Curative's labs.
The previous Dodger Stadium testing site was the largest in the United States during 2020, administering a million COVID-19 tests between May 2020 and January 2021. The site was transitioned into a mass-vaccination center on Jan. 15 and then ended operations at the end of May, as the city shifted more doses to appointment-free, walk-up vaccination sites and mobile clinics.
Gov. Newsom encourages COVID vaccines in SoCal ahead of winter season
As of Tuesday, Los Angeles County's rolling average daily rate of people testing positive for COVID-19 was 1.3%.
A recent increase in COVID cases statewide has health officials concerned the rate of spread will also climb heading into the winter season.
"Winter is coming," Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in L.A. County. "Winter is here, and as we should be reminded, last year, we had a challenging winter, particularly down here in Southern California ... This, in so many ways, is part of a pattern that's familiar, and the one thing that can interrupt that pattern is the one thing we're here to promote."
According to Newsom, almost 90% of eligible adults in California have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine.
The state's coronavirus dashboard says nearly 159,000 people are getting a dose every day. That number is based on the average daily dose count over the course of seven days.
