SF Opens New High Volume Testing Site in SoMa on August 18
After scaling back on its high volume COVID-19 testing sites earlier this year, San Francisco city officials said on Monday they will once again open a large testing site as cases continue to climb.
The new high volume testing site opens on Thursday at Seventh and Brannan streets, in the city’s South of Market neighborhood. The site will operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week and by appointment only. Patients can get their results in 24 and 48 hours. By the end of the month, the city is hoping the site will be able to administer 500 tests per day, city officials said.
Currently, the city is seeing an average of 230 new COVID-19 cases daily, a sharp rise from just 11 average daily cases just two months ago.
“We know that the most important thing people can do to keep themselves and their friends and family safe is to get vaccinated, but with the delta variant here and cases at a higher level than we’d like, testing remains an important part of our strategy to slow the spread of this virus,” Mayor London Breed said in a statement. “If you feel sick, have symptoms, or have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19, we want to make it easy and convenient for you to get tested.”
The San Francisco Department of Public Health is reserving appointments at the new site for disaster service workers who’ve been exposed to the virus. The general public will also be able to make appointments at the testing site, but residents are strongly encouraged to first try getting a test from their health provider or to take a rapid home test.
SFDPH is planning on issuing a new citywide health order later this week requiring large health care facilities to provide COVID-19 testing for patients in order to ensure testing options remain available, city officials said.
“We are responding to this fourth surge in COVID-19 by doing what we know works best — and that is vaccinations, indoor masking, and expanding our testing capacity once again with this new high-volume testing site,” SFPDH Director Dr. Grant Colfax said. “We are opening the new SOMA testing site to meet our highest needs, and to serve those in the city who have been most impacted by COVID and who have the least access to care.”
He added, “We also ask our health care system to do their part for their patients, as COVID will be with us in some form for the foreseeable future.”
To make an appointment at the testing site, or to find other testing options, go to www.sf.gov/gettested.
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