The city of Compton continued expanding its ability to test people for the coronavirus Saturday, Jan. 23, with Burrell MacDonald Park opening as the city’s second testing site and first drive-thru site.
The city’s other testing site is located at Gonzalez Park.
Compton Councilwoman Tana McCoy partnered with community organizations Veterans & Youth Career Collaborative and Latino Chamber of Commerce of Compton to bring such a critical resource to the community.
Low-income and people of color, McCoy said, have been disproportionately affected by the virus.
“We are experiencing a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in LA County and our City of Compton is making it more important than ever to practice safety measures that will keep us healthy and alive,” McCoy said.
“Bringing this site to the community is, in fact, so important,” said Assemblyman Mike A. Gipson, D-Carson. “That we decided to open despite the rain.”
“This virus has hit the community so hard that I know residents who have lost their entire families,” he added.
While Los Angeles County health department teams rolled out five new large-scale vaccination centers earlier this week, all at familiar, high-profile settings, Gipson said he is working with the county health department to establish a vaccination site in the city as soon as supplies become more readily available.
“There are low-income residents, elderly, people who just can’t make the trek to Dodger Stadium to get their vaccine,” Gipson said. “I want residents to not even have to get on a bus to go get their vaccine. I want it to be as easy and accessible as possible.”
One location Gipson said his office has already evaluated as a possible site is the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. But until the county’s vaccine supply increases, its unclear when new testing sites will open across the county.
The new testing site will operate daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. To register for a test at one of Compton’s sites, residents can visit comptoncovidtest.com or text “COMPCOVID” to 474747.