--- title: "LA Offers Free Coronavirus Test to Every Resident" description: "Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Wednesday that all city and county residents can get a free COVID-19 test, with our without symptoms." date: "2020-04-30" modified: "2020-04-30" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/la-free-coronavirus-tests-residents" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" --- # LA Offers Free Coronavirus Test to Every Resident ![Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Wednesday that all city and county residents can get a free COVID-19 test, with our without symptoms.]() *\Image: The National Guard\* Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti announced on Wednesday that all city and county residents can get a free COVID-19 test, [*NPR* reports](). The announcement makes LA the first major city in the US to offer free universal testing — rather than just those who are experiencing symptoms or had to be hospitalized. https://twitter.com/MayorOfLA/status/1255669977278906368 "Los Angeles will become the first major city in America to offer wide-scale testing to all of our residents, with or without symptoms," Garcetti said during a daily press briefing. Those experiencing symptoms will still be given first priority, however. Experts say widespread testing is an [effective strategy]() to safely reopen parts of the country — especially considering that the virus can be spread by those who show no symptoms at all. Knowing who is a carrier could help authorities isolate smaller outbreak clusters. The news comes after the Los Angeles County Health Department announced another 1,541 cases were identified on Wednesday alone, making it the "highest number of new cases reported" in a day, according to a [press release](). According to Garcetti, LA now accounts for nine percent of all tests being done across the country. To get a test, LA residents will have to first make an appointment at one of 34 testing sites, according to Garcetti. The test isn't the [often painful nasal swab]() as [*NBC Los Angeles* reports](). Instead, participants are asked to cough three times into their shoulder while facing the other way. A healthcare practitioner then takes swab samples from different parts of the mouth. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()