City to close coronavirus testing centers over scorching weekend

Coronavirus testing centers operated by the city of Los Angeles will be closed this weekend amid the extreme heat that’s forecast for the region, as well as Labor Day, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday.

All drive-through testing sites run by the city will be closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday, Garcetti said.

But mobile teams will hold pop-up testing events at Union Station and the Carecen Day Labor Center in Westlake on Friday, and at Liberty Park in Koreatown and the L.A. Downtown Medical Center on Saturday, he said.

Mobile teams also will be at Los Angeles City College in East Hollywood on Saturday, according to the city’s pop-up testing website.

“These pop-up testing sites are critical for Angelenos who don’t have access to a car,” Garcetti said. “You can simply walk up with no appointment, get a test and be on your way.”

Los Angeles and much of the state are under an excessive heat watch or warning beginning either Friday or Saturday and continuing through Sunday or Monday. Temperatures are expected to climb 15 to 20 degrees above normal — or even higher — in some areas over the weekend.

All state-operated coronavirus testing sites, and some centers operated by the county, will also be closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday, officials said.

L.A. County will close its testing centers at Bellflower City Hall, East L.A. College, the Forum, the Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Campus and Montebello Civic Center on Monday. Other sites operated by the county will remain open.

According to figures reported Wednesday by L.A. County public health officials, more than 2.3 million residents have been tested for the virus, with about 10% testing positive.