San Francisco took a big step Wednesday in trying to better-contain the latest COVID surge. The public health department opened up a mass testing site in the city's SoMa neighborhood.
It will open starting Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will give out 500 tests per day, by appointment only, with results in 24-48 hours, the city said. There will be drive-thru and walk-up options.
The new site is part of the city's effort to help control the spread of the virus, as the delta variant pushes the average number of cases in San Francisco to 230 per day.
"I just came back from vacation, you know? I took a flight. I was around people. So I just want to make sure," said Nathan Conn of San Francisco.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
Some people had more immediate reasons to be concerned.
“But I have been experiencing some symptoms like sore throat, fatigue,” said Christine of San Francisco. “So I’m just going in to make sure.”
Local
The health department said testing is the only way to really make sure and test results are expected within 24 to 48 hours. But while officials are encouraged by the public response to the new mass test site, they acknowledge a limit of 500 tests a day does not meet the overall demand.
"We have really been focused on trying to get through September and then we will reassess what things look like depending on how, you know, what Delta does," said Dr. Andrea Tenner of the COVID Task Force.
