Large-scale coronavirus testing site opens at Anaheim Convention Center

ANAHEIM, Calif. (KABC) -- The Anaheim Convention Center was transformed into a drive-thru coronavirus testing site for Orange County residents on Wednesday.

To be eligible for the free testing, an appointment is required. Testing will be available for health care workers, anyone showing COVID-19 symptoms and those who have been exposed to the virus.

Priority for tests will also be extended to first responders, food supply workers, utility workers, public employees and residents and employees at adult living facilities.

Tests will be offered 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. The testing will be done on the west side of the facility in a parking lot and parking structure off West Street, just south of Katella Avenue.

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Officials have set out to conduct 600 to 800 tests each day, five days a week and increase that number to 1,200 per day within two weeks.

Supervisor Andrew Do said the site is the "first large-scale COVID testing drive-thru" for the county.

"The Convention Center is also centrally located to be able to serve both Anaheim and Santa Ana, two cities that need access to testing the most, given the high number of cases in those cities," Do said.

For those with insurance, the insurer will be billed, and those without insurance will not have to pay as federal funding will cover the cost. The city is providing the testing site for no charge, and the county is picking up the cost for testing with federal funding.

To register online and find out how to make an appointment, click here. Once registration is finished, a confirmation e-mail or text will be sent.

City News Service contributed to this report.