- Los Angeles' largest coronavirus testing site at Dodger Stadium closed for four days over the weekend, local outlet KTLA reported.
- The site could administer 6,000 tests a day and is anticipated to allow for 6,500 tests once it reopens.
- LA county medical services director Dr. Christina Ghaly said the city was already struggling to meet its testing needs prior to this weekend.
- Cases in the county are rising, and experts are worried that the Fourth of July weekend is going to cause another surge in cases.
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Los Angeles' largest coronavirus testing site at Dodger Stadium closed for four days over the weekend, local outlet KTLA reported.
A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Garcetti's office, Andrea Garcia, told KTLA that when the site reopens it will have the capacity to test 6,500 people a day.
"The Dodger Stadium location was not scheduled to be open [Monday] but it will be open tomorrow. No appointments were canceled. City sites provided 2,800 tests today and will provide 80,000 tests this week," Garcia's office told local news outlet KCAL.
According to KCAL, the site is supposed to open on Tuesday.
However, KTLA reported that the center did not have available appointment slots until Wednesday.
"We encourage folks to go onto the website to make appointments," Garcia told the outlet. "It's not closing; it was just from a holiday."
Los Angeles county medical services director Dr. Christina Ghaly Ghaly told the outlet that the county plans to have more testing availability this week. However, Ghaly said the county was already struggling prior to this weekend to meet testing demands, according to KTLA.
"There continues to be high demand for testing services," Ghaly said during a briefing Monday. "We opened up 6,000 slots this morning; those are currently full. We'll add additional slots and open those up tomorrow and the next day."
Coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County have been on the rise, and more young people have been hospitalized for COVID-19, KTLA also previously reported.
On Friday, the county hit a record 3,187 new daily coronavirus cases. On Monday, 1,584 new coronavirus cases were recorded and 48 deaths.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Barbara Ferrer, the Los Angeles County director of public health said that as of this Saturday, "almost 50% of new cases occur among younger people" or adults under 40.
The Times added that only a third of the county's population is between the ages of 18 and 39. Additionally, in early April young adults under 40 only made up 30% of new coronavirus cases.
Hospitalizations have also increased with 1,921 people in the hospital for coronavirus, according to KTLA. The outlet reported that health officials said 28% of those hospitalized were in the ICU, and 18% were on ventilators.
Additionally, the LA Times reported that younger adults are now being hospitalized at higher rates. As of Saturday, The youngest adults, those 40 and under made up 25% of hospitalizations compared to around 15% at the end of April. Those who are between the ages of 41 and 64 made up 45% of hospitalizations compared to around 35% at the end of April. Thos over 65 now makes up less than 30% of hospitalized cases compared to 50% back in April.
Experts across the country are concerned that this past holiday weekend would lead to yet another surge in cases.
"Our numbers are going through the roof," Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the public-health officer in nearby Riverside County, told The New York Times. "We started seeing more and more cases after Memorial Day, and we can't afford another jump after the Fourth of July."
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