Coronavirus Update: Supervisor Wants San Francisco Testing Sites Relocated To 'Underserved Neighborhoods'
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- City Supervisor Shamann Walton is calling for city testing for COVID-19 to be relocated into San Francisco's underserved neighborhoods, and he wants that to happen now.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
"We need action," Walton said. "Action is asymptomatic testing in as many vulnerable communities as possible, and do it starting yesterday."
Walton, who represents the Bayview and Hunters Point districts in Southeast San Francisco, said he would like to see a program like the one UCSF is performing in the Mission District, testing thousands and accommodating anyone who shows up and asks for the test.
The City's TestSF program currently requires an appointment.
Walton said he wants the TestSF facility to move from the Embarcadero and South of Market locations into the neighborhoods. But he says nobody at the public health department will give him an answer as to whether that will happen.
KPIX 5 also reached out to interview a San Francisco Public Health (SFDPH) official, but got no response.
San Francisco's public testing facilities have a combined capacity to test 5800 people a day for COVID-19, but only 500 a day are actually getting tested.
KPIX 5 first reported on the two San Francisco testing sites operating below capacity on Tuesday night and followed up with San Francisco officials Wednesday.
One possible reason for the shortage: right now, the city advertises that the tests are only available for people who are symptomatic. But the SFDPH has quietly expanded the list of symptoms. Now someone who wants a test only has to say they have one symptom on a list that includes headaches and exhaustion.
"Since we've only got 30 percent capacity at Pier 30 / 32 why not move that testing over to the Southeast Health Center, to Pier 94 where we're going to have RV's housing our un-housed populations so they can shelter in place safely," Walton said. "And I don't get an intelligent response [from the public health department] as to why it's not happening. We have tests, we have personnel that are working. And it just baffles me that we're in this position.
Late Thursday, the San Francisco branch of the NAACP announced it will have a news conference on Friday. Walton's staff told KPIX5 the civil rights organization will back Walton's call for testing to relocate to the neighborhoods.
Mayor London Breed has received national attention for making the early call for a stay-at-order in the city. But locally, she's under pressure to move more quickly on other fronts.
Thursday night, dozens of activists staged a die-in, blocking off and then lying in the middle of a San Francisco street.
They said they are upset about Mayor London Breed's response to homelessness during the covid-19 crisis. They want the administration to get folks into hotels much more quickly.
"This is really an opportunity to move large numbers of vulnerable people who are living in streets, living in congregate shelters," said the Rev. Sadie Stone, an activist. "This is an opportunity to house them. And there are people willing to make it happen and make it happen quickly."
