The recent COVID-19 surge has created an increased demand for testing that has stifled supply of at-home tests and lengthened test wait times.
The car line for COVID testing at the Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Hospital at times last week stretched more than a mile and lasted well more than an hour. The line was significantly shorter by late Monday morning.
Test results normally are returned from Kaiser in 24 to 48 hours, but at least one person waited five days before getting her results on Sunday. Kaiser, which has several medical facilities throughout the Valley region, on Saturday – New Year’s Day – warned that said there may be long wait times for testing at their facilities, even if patients have an appointment. The notice sent by email said “you can use an FDA-approved, at-home test or schedule a test at kp.org. You can also go to non-Kaiser Permanente testing locations in the community.”
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health reported 21,200 new COVID-19 cases as of Jan. 1, a 468 percent increase compared to two weeks earlier. In total, more than 45,000 cases were reported during the holiday weekend.
In Ventura County, 5,283 new cases were reported as of Monday. The county’s public health department also on Monday reported it would distribute a limited amount of home testing kits over the next two days. They will be given to county residents who were exposed recently or to those who have had symptoms for two or three days.
Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia told the Business Journal that its urgent care center saw a 140 percent increase in testing last week compared to the previous week.
In Southern California, Kaiser performed approximately 350,000 COVID tests in December, compared to nearly 300,000 tests in November, according to Senior Media Relations Specialist Terry Kanakri.
Public health officials and Kaiser Permanente’s infectious disease experts are recommending that people stay close to home due to how fast the omicron variant is spreading.
Los Angeles County is looking to meet testing demand with the recent introduction of an at-home test collection program that was announced yesterday. County residents can have a nasal swab test kit sent to them free of charge if they have COVID-19 symptoms or believe they have been exposed to COVID-19.
Sign up for the program can be completed at http://covid19.lacounty.gov/hometest.