https://www.sgvtribune.com/2020/04/14/baldwin-park-launches-new-coronavirus-testing-site/
Baldwin Park launched a new coronavirus testing site at Baldwin Park Adult School on Tuesday morning.
Testing is only available for those residents of the city and employees of Baldwin Park businesses who exhibit fever, cough or shortness of breath symptoms. Testing is also available for those subject to a 14-day quarantine, with more than seven days remaining, because of a confirmed coronavirus exposure, regardless of immigration status.
Priority will be given to people 65 and older or with chronic health conditions, low-income residents and those with no insurance.
Testing is free and comes in partnership between the city, Baldwin Park Unified School District and Vital Medical Services.
According to Mayor Manuel Lozano, funding for the site comes from a Community Development Block Grant, which are grants provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“I’m excited to be able to address those who have been infected who have various symptoms,” Lozano said in a phone interview on Monday afternoon. “Everyone is anxious, and I understand that.”
The testing site isn’t meant for every Baldwin Park resident, although many may want to be tested.
“We have a lot of residents that are overly anxious,” Lozano said. “The ones we’re targeting are those that are showing symptoms.”
As of noon Monday, April 13, there were 28 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Baldwin Park and 9,420 in Los Angeles County. The countywide death toll stands at 320. New testing sites have popped up throughout the San Gabriel Valley, including the San Gabriel Airport in El Monte, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and a local health clinic in West Covina.
Dr. Angelique Campen, Vital Medical Services’ co-founder and chief medical officer, said this test will only tell if you’re infected with the new coronavirus at the time the test was taken. It’s not an antibody test, so it can’t determine if you were previously infected with the virus.
“It’s important to know if the illness you have is coronavirus,” she said in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “There are a lot of viruses going around right now.”
Each test will be sent to a lab, which will inform the L.A. County Department of Public Health of each positive result, Campen said.
Baldwin Park Adult School is at 4640 N. Maine Ave., Baldwin Park. It will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday and will be available by appointment only for as long as supplies last.
