Long Beach City is at risk of losing its LAST FREE testing site after December, which is extremely concerning for our city’s health as many people rely on it to keep themselves, their loved ones, and others safe.

Many Long Beach residents used to get tested for SARS-CoV-2 weekly at El Dorado Park, where they provided free PCR lab testing. In addition to masking, this has been one of Long Beach residents’ lifelines as nearly all COVID-19 safety measures have been disappearing after the state and federal end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Despite the “end of the pandemic,” COVID-19 Wastewater Data indicates that the pandemic has not gone anywhere, and it is more out of control than ever.

On Friday, December 1st, we were informed that the El Dorado Park testing site would be closing down and would be consolidated into the last remaining site at the MLK Community Center. This is due to a lack of staff, dwindling funding for the free testing program, and a decrease in demand for in-person testing. As COVID-conscious Long Beach residents, we are extremely concerned knowing that testing sites have decreased from 4 sites across Long Beach to only one. We also are aware that the lack of demand is directly related to the lack of accessible information for our communities about available city resources regarding COVID precautions and care. Public Health messaging must be shared in the different languages that are spoken in our diverse and culturally rich community.

We firmly believe that closing this testing site is against the best interests of our community and ethical Public Health. We have 3 years of case history and wastewater data to confirm that positive cases rapidly rise after Thanksgiving and through the holidays. Therefore, it is extremely negligent to our fellow Long Beach residents to close our last testing site at such a vulnerable and needed time.

Please sign this petition to let our city officials know that there is still community demand to keep testing sites open and they MUST listen to our demands to keep at least the MLK Community Center Free PCR testing site open for Long Beach residents. We must keep our city safe from COVID and that includes access to multiple layers of protection; masks, free testing sites, free at-home testing kits, pharmaceuticals, and updated information about community spread.