San Francisco is making free coronavirus tests available to any person who leaves their house and interacts with the public for work deemed essential — regardless of whether or not the person is symptomatic.
Before, San Francisco health care workers, grocers, bus drivers and other essential employees could get a free test, but only if they felt sick with symptoms of COVID-19.
Mayor London Breed announced the latest expansion of the city’s testing policy at a Monday coronavirus briefing, calling it “significant” and “a game changer.”
“The ability to expand testing capacities is so important as we start to look at opening more businesses and reopening our city,” she said. “And having the ability to get people tested is so critical to that success.”
“If you are an essential worker and you exhibit symptoms or you don’t exhibit symptoms, you still are able to get tested,” she said. “And usually the results of those tests, we get back anywhere between 24 and 72 hours.”
Testing is available at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, the Castro-Mission Health Center, the Southeast Health Center and the Maxine Hall Health Center in the Western Addition neighborhood.
Breed asked workers to not to show up for a test without signing up first at city’s site here. Workers who don’t have internet access can sign up for a test by calling 311.
—Kevin Stark @starkkev