Testing sites across Los Angeles County have seen a major increase in demand for coronavirus testing, with many locations no longer taking walk-ins and appointment slots becoming increasingly sparse.
“Demand has been tremendous,” Farhad Tajali of 911 COVID Testing told KTLA. “Over the past four weeks, we’ve gone, just at our facilities here from just a few 100 tests on a daily basis to close to 4000 tests daily.”
Tajali said more people are getting tested because they’re either traveling or going back to school, or because they’re symptomatic as the omicron variant’s spread fuels more infections.
The testing site has also seen an increase in the positivity rate at its locations, which include the site at LAX. “Just around 4 1/2 weeks ago, it was just over 2%. Now it’s hovering somewhere posted 25%,” Tajali said.
Mark Mester, Christina Pascucci and Kimberly Cheng report for KTLA 5 News on Jan. 5, 2022.