When coronavirus testing was more limited in L.A. County, it turned to Silicon Valley for a streamlined test

A woman takes a self-administered COVID-19 test, under the instruction of a health worker, at a drive-up testing site outside Jackie Robinson Stadium off the UCLA campus.(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Apr 28, 2020 / 08:33 AM PDT

Updated: Apr 28, 2020 / 08:34 AM PDT

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When the coronavirus hit, Los Angeles County faced a testing crisis.

Officials had only one test processing machine at its laboratory in Downey and had little hope of getting help from the federal government. Swabs were scarce. Laboratories were backlogged. And there weren’t enough healthcare workers to take samples from patients.

So they turned to a brand-new Silicon Valley start-up with a novel approach that said it could provide a large number of drive-through tests very quickly.

That company, Curative-Korva, now performs most of the public testing across Los Angeles County for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The firm, started in January by a 24-year-old scientist and entrepreneur, processes nearly 6,000 samples per day at dozens of pop-up sites and claims to provide nearly 20 percent of all testing for the virus in California.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.

Unlike most other places, LA uses COVID-19 tests that are oral self-swabs (not uncomfortable nasal ones). Made by a Silicon Valley startup, the tests bring potential rewards, and risks https://t.co/J6epOaIaLr w @MelodyPetersen
— Maya Lau 🦅 (@mayalau) April 28, 2020