COVID: San Francisco Opens Mass Testing Site In SoMa Amid Delta Variant Surge
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Health officials in San Francisco announced a mass COVID-19 testing site will open in the city's South of Market on Wednesday amid rising cases due to the Delta variant.
The site located at 7th and Brannan Streets will have the capacity to administer up to 500 tests per day and will offer drive-thru and walkup services, officials said. Results from the site would be ready within 24 to 48 hours.
SFDPH said the site will operate from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week by appointment only. The general public can make appointments, but are encouraged to first seek tests from their healthcare provider or purchase rapid home-testing kits.
"We are responding to this fourth surge in COVID-19 by doing what we know works best – and that is vaccinations, indoor masking, and expanding our testing capacity once again with this new high-volume testing site," health director Dr. Grant Colfax said in a statement.
As of August 8, the seven-day average of new cases in San Francisco was at 225 per day as the Delta variant drives rising cases, largely among the unvaccinated. On June 15, when the state fully reopened its economy, the seven-day average was at 10.
"We know that the most important thing people can do to keep themselves and their friends and family safe is to get vaccinated, but with the Delta variant here and cases at a higher level than we'd like, testing remains an important part of our strategy to slow the spread of this virus," Mayor London Breed said Monday.
Officials said the new testing site brings the city's current testing capacity to about 5,000 tests per day.
Information about appointments at the SoMa site and other city-run testing sites can be found at sf.gov/gettested.
