The first mobile coronavirus testing site in San Francisco opened Wednesday outside the Tenderloin Recreation Center on Ellis and Hyde streets. It's one of three new centers that will add capacity for 500 more tests a day in areas where people are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19.
The Tenderloin is a critical location for testing, said Kyriell Noon, senior director of programs at GLIDE, the community nonprofit helping to run the site.
"Because there's such density in our population, particularly among folks who are unhoused, the possibility of really rapid transmission in that population is high," Noon said. "And so testing is extremely important, as is contact tracing."
The Tenderloin site will be open this week and next, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, before moving on to the Bayview neighborhood.
San Francisco continues to offer free testing to anyone who must leave their home for work. Any resident with at least one COVID-19 symptom or possible exposure can also get tested.
— Annie Berman (@anniebermanak)