LA County expands free testing in COVID-19 hot spot

Vallarta Supermarkets to offer COVID-19 testing

New Vallarta Supermarkets will partner with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services to offer COVID-19 tests to local residents in hard hit areas.

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Department of Public is teaming up with Vallarta Supermarkets, one of the largest Latino-serving grocers in California, to expand free COVID-19 testing in Pacoima. The San Fernando Valley neighborhood is considered one of the hardest hit communities by the virus.

COVID-19 deaths in the Latino community have skyrocketed, county health officials said.

They added that deaths among the LatinX community have gone up more than 1,000% since November. Underserved areas like MacArthur Park, Boyle Heights and South Los Angeles are particularly susceptible to infection because of dense housing, crowded living conditions and a higher percentage of essential workers in these communities.

"I think a lot of Latino people still don’t think COVID-19 is real. That’s what I’ve been hearing from people," said Vallarta employee Eduardo Rodriguez.

Rapid testing will be available via a kiosk from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Vallarta Supermarket on 10175 N. San Fernando Road for the next three months. Appointments are not required and may be booked online.

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