The Los Angeles County COVID-19 testing site at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center was closed. However, Cedars-Sinai continues testing for patients and its employees. (photo by Jose Herrera)

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center served as a Los Angeles County free public COVID-19 testing site for two and half months, but as of June 30, county-run testing at the medical center has been discontinued.

According to a statement from Cedars-Sinai, from mid-April to the end of June, approximately 13,000 people were tested at the hospital through the county’s program, but public funding ended.

“Cedars-Sinai continues to provide drive-through COVID-19 testing for pre-procedural patients, patients referred by their physicians and our employees as we strive to protect the health and safety of the community,” the statement from Cedars-Sinai read.

As of July 15, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported a total of 2,758 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 143,009 cases in Los Angeles County. The county has also reported 2,193 hospitalizations.

Los Angeles County is working to establish a broad network of free public testing sites in partnership with the state and local jurisdictions, and the existing health system. The goal is to offer testing to any Los Angeles County resident who does not have access to health care, according to Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer during a live press conference on July 15.

There are approximately 20,000 daily testing appointments available Monday through Friday, with testing also available on the weekends. The number of testing appointments varies by site depending on size and personnel available.

All residents should first contact their primary care provider or health plan with questions about how to access testing. As of now, testing at public sites is available by appointment only, and priority is given to individuals who are symptomatic, people who have been in contact with individuals diagnosed with COVID-19, and those in nursing facilities, group homes and residential care facilities. People experiencing homelessness should also be tested.

According to Ferrer, the county is focusing on testing equity because COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting communities of color.

“We need to focus significantly to address the alarming trend,” Ferrer said. “We need to deploy resources to the hardest hit communities.”

West Hollywood Mayor Lindsey Horvath said city staff were notified by Cedars-Sinai workers that the county would close its site.

“We’ve reached out to our representatives to prevent that from happening,” Horvath said. “We have more conversations coming up to see if we can reinstate county support for testing in West Hollywood.”

She added that small cities like West Hollywood have not received any funding from the county or the state, and as a result, they have not been able to do COVID-19 testing on their own. The city continues to work with the L.A. County Department of Health Services on providing accessible testing for residents.

“No one has raised any issues to me directly at this time,” Horvath said. “At the start of the coronavirus emergency, testing was not widely available. We’ve been told by L.A. County, that people should be pursuing testing through their health care providers.”

For individuals who have health insurance, providers are required to pay for approved COVID-19 tests under state law. By providing insurance information, the county can be reimbursed for the cost of tests.

The two nearest sites to West Hollywood for public drive-up COVID-19 testing are at Rite-Aid stores located at 11321 National Blvd. and 959 Crenshaw Blvd. For more locations, visit covid19.lacounty.gov/testing.