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THURSDAY, JANUARY 13 - JANUARY 19, 2022
VOL. 810, NO. 52
LA County supervisors seek funding to expand COVID-19 testing By City News Service
T
he Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to identify additional funding to expand COVID-19 testing -including for take-home test kits -- as the number of infections spikes higher. Supervisors Hilda Solis and Janice Hahn co-authored the motion calling for a report back in 14 days on federal and state funding that could be used to buy more antigen, or PCR, tests. "The county has a massive testing infrastructure in place, with testing sites located in vulnerable communities countywide," the motion read in part. "However, due to the skyrocketing demand for testing and strained staffing capacity, wait times at some testing locations can often take hours, and some partner sites are not able to offer appointments until days later." Both Solis and Hahn were absent from Tuesday's meeting while meeting with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach,
A mobile COVID-19 testing site at The Forum in April 2020. | Photo courtesy of the County of Los Angeles
but the motion passed on a 3-0 vote without comment along with dozens of other agenda items. On Monday, Hahn issued a statement calling for the county to deploy disaster service workers and open up more testing locations -- including county health clinics and
libraries -- to meet the growing demand. "It is unacceptable how long our residents have had to wait or how far they have had to drive just to get tested for COVID-19 these past few weeks," Hahn said Monday. "L.A. County needs to treat this demand for testing
with urgency. I am urging the county to deploy our disaster service workers and calling on our Department of Health Services to set up testing sites at L.A. County Libraries and health clinics." During earlier surges, the county pressed a wide range of employees
into temporary service as emergency workers. The Solis-Hahn motion did not directly address that possibility. On Monday, the county Department of Health Services announced that take-home tests would be made available, while supplies last, for residents
unable to get appointments as the demand for tests increases during a dramatic upswing in infections due to the Omicron variant. Residents can pick up a PCR test kit at one of 13 testing sites without an appointment, complete the test on their own and return the completed kit to one of several designated locations for processing. Residents are expected to be notified of test results -- which cover both COVID-19 and the flu -within 24-48 hours. A test kit-by-mail program that was suspended last week due to lack of supplies is also expected to be restarted this week. "We look forward to reducing the waiting time to get tested for individuals unable to book an appointment," Paula Siler, director of Community Mobile Testing Operations at DHS, said on Monday. "Once all 13 pick-up testing locations are fully operating and once our home testing kit-by-mail program is simultaneously See COVID-19 testing Page 13
Metro bus fares resume following near two-year-long suspension due to COVID-19 By City News Service
F
are collection resumed Monday aboard Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses after being suspended
as a COVID-19 precaution in March 2020. The fares were suspended to allow people to enter buses in the back, as well as in the front where fares are collected. Train fares
were never suspended during the pandemic and collection will continue to be in effect. To assist with adjustment, Metro is offering half-price passes for
six months and larger discounts for eligible lowincome passengers. Discounted passes went on sale in December, and the following promotional fares will be avail-
able through July 2022: • $3.50 for a Day Pass; • $12.50 for a Weekly Pass; and • $50 for a 30-Day Pass. Riders who enroll in
a regional transportation assistance program called Low-Income Fare is Easy (LIFE) at https://bit. ly/3x6RYe5 will get 90 days See Metro bus Page 5