Drive-up testing for COVID-19 will be available to dockworkers, truckers and other frontline labor partners starting Monday, Aug. 17 at the Port of Long Beach, the shipyard announced today.
This is to “help ensure a healthy workforce and the safe delivery of essential goods during an unprecedented moment in history,” a press release from the Port of Long Beach stated.
The free tests will be available to Long Beach port personnel and the general public on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 to 7 p.m. at 2100 W. Anaheim St., a vacant lot located within the Harbor District at the southwest corner of Anaheim and Ninth streets.
“Our port workers are working around the clock to deliver critical supplies to every household in America, and we must do all we can to keep them safe,” Mayor Robert Garcia said. “Expanding COVID-19 testing on-site at the Port of Long Beach demonstrates our commitment to these hardworking men and women.”
“We are focused on the health and well-being of the entire Port workforce,” Mario Cordero, Executive Director of the Port of Long Beach. “These are the men and women who keep cargo moving and ensure the safe delivery of goods and healthcare supplies to the rest of the country,” Cordero said. “We hope this free COVID-19 testing site will provide another layer of assurance for our labor and industry partners.”
“Our priority is to keep all the employees and residents of Long Beach safe,” Harbor Commission President Frank Colonna said. “The Port is committed to doing its part to reduce the spread of COVID-19 as the number of cases continue to grow across the state and nationally.”
Up to 200 free tests will be provided daily by the city of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services, with funding from the Port of Long Beach, port officials said.
On-site registration will be available for port-related personnel.
Appointments are required for the general public and can be made online or by calling 562-570-4636.
Long Beach officials stated with the addition of the Harbor District site, the city of Long Beach will have the capacity to conduct 1,600 COVID-19 tests daily, and five other city-sponsored locations are available across Long Beach, while mobile tests are accessible to residents who are unable to leave their homes.
