Walk-up COVID-19 testing kiosk launches at Union Station

A mobile testing kiosk is opening Thursday at Union Station as Los Angeles County continues to expand its COVID-19 testing capacity.

The pilot program, launched by Curative Inc. and Metropolitan Transportation Authority, is a walk-up stand meant to accommodate those who don’t have access to a car. Roughly 500 tests will be available each day, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday.

“We’re looking forward to seeing people traveling safely through Union Station — to home, to work, to their families, to where they need to go,” Garcetti said.

Testing will be offered 9 a.m.-3 p.m. through Sunday, with testing continuing on Wednesdays through Sundays for the rest of the month. The process is a self-administered swab test with a 24-hour turnaround time for results. Appointments are not necessary but are encouraged.

There are roughly 23,000 COVID-19 tests available daily at city- and county-run sites, Garcetti said.

More than 236,450 infections have been recorded in the county. While the transmission rate has declined in recent weeks, officials have warned that activity related to Labor Day weekend could result in another surge.

L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said that she is “cautiously hopeful” that cases will not spike again, as was the case after Memorial Day and the Fourth of July weekend. But she reminded residents to take proactive steps in the event they become exposed to the virus.

“If you are potentially exposed to COVID-19 over the holiday weekend, I’m encouraging you to get tested,” she said Wednesday.

Ferrer advised people to get tested if they were in a crowd, especially without face coverings, or came into contact with a person who was sick or tested positive for the virus.

The county’s expansion of testing and contact tracing also includes the launch of the SafePass mobile app to alert residents who have come in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus.