Dr. Dre and record executive Jimmy Iovine made a donation to the city of Compton that will go toward medical supplies, free COVID-19 testing and 145,000 meals for residents, the city announced Thursday.
As of Wednesday, 140 cases of the virus were reported in the city — making up less than 1% of the 16,435 people who have tested positive throughout Los Angeles County. Given the city’s population, that number doesn’t indicate a higher rate of infection compared to surrounding areas and cities.
However, public health officials have said a lack of affordability and access to testing can give an unclear picture of the virus. In Compton, about 30 people are tested for the virus each day and an average of 10 residents are turned away because they cannot afford it, according to the city.
The donation from Iovine and Dr. Dre, a Compton native, will fund free testing for residents unable to afford it. More than a fifth of the city’s residents live below the poverty line, according to Census data.
“The donation will ensure testing costs are not a barrier from being tested,” a spokeswoman for the city, Adriana Fernandez-Clark, wrote in an email. She did not give the amount of the donation.
Currently, tests cost about $150 per person but the city is working with Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’s office to ensure cheaper or free tests are available to residents, according to Fernandez-Clark.
Those eligible for free testing include undocumented immigrants, people without health insurance and “anyone facing a barrier to testing, Fernandez-Clark wrote.
“The number of people served is dependent on several factors that continue to change rapidly,” she wrote, indicating it’s unclear how many will benefit. “The total impact will be reported on a monthly basis.”
The city is still exploring how it can provide “more mobile” and cheaper testing through its efforts with the county health department, according to Fernandez-Clark.
Some of the money from Iovine and Dr. Dre will also go toward buying medical equipment such as masks, gloves and hand sanitizer, Fernandez-Clark said.
In recent weeks, city leaders around the U.S. and groups such as the NAACP have expressed concern after federal health officials said black Americans appear particularly hard hit by the virus. Nearly a third of Compton’s residents are black compared to just 9% of all L.A. County residents.
An Associated Press analysis earlier this month found nearly 3,300 of 13,000 people who died of the virus nationwide, or about 42%, were black.
“Access to testing is much lower in underserved communities like ours when compared with wealthier communities, which is a longstanding, systemic disparity highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Fernandez-Clark wrote.
“This donation will ensure that more Compton residents will have access to testing which will help offset the disproportionate impact communities like ours are seeing and which ultimately can save lives.”
As infections and deaths continue to mount, local governments are also grappling with the economic fallout of mass closures. About 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the five weeks since COVID-19 first triggered shutdowns.
