LANCASTER – Los Angeles County’s Department of Health Services is increasing its COVID-19 testing in the Antelope Valley. Free COVID-19 testing will begin next week at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds.
Starting Wednesday, Jan. 6, the tests will be available Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at the fairgrounds, located at 2555 West Avenue H in Lancaster.
People must sign up in advance to be assigned an appointment time. Signups can be made on the Los Angeles County testing website: https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing. People who don’t have access to the Internet can call 211 and ask to be signed up for a COVID-19 test.
In addition, testing is available by appointment through https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/ at Hammack Activity Center, 815 East Ave. Q-6 in Palmdale, and Los Angeles County’s High Desert Regional Health Center, 335 East Ave. I, in Lancaster.
COVID-19 testing also takes place on Wednesdays through Wilsona School District in Lake Los Angeles and on Fridays at Paving the Way Foundation in Lancaster. Appointments are necessary by calling 888 634-1123. Testing is also available through some doctors’ offices and pharmacies.
Testing is currently recommended for people who:
- Have symptoms of COVID-19.
- Were asked by LA County Department of Public Health to get a test because of a contact tracing or outbreak investigation.
- Were in “close contact” with someone who has COVID-19 in the past 2 weeks.
- Work or live in places such as skilled nursing facilities, group homes, residential care facilities, correctional facilities or homeless shelters.
- Are a person experiencing homelessness.
- Are an essential worker with frequent contacts with the public in the following areas: health care, emergency, food and grocery services, factory workers in food and retail, public transportation, and education.
- Don’t have symptoms but believe you may be infected now because you were exposed to people who were sick, were around many people who were not wearing face coverings, and/or were not keeping safe distance in the past two weeks.
[Information via the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.]
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