COVID-19 testing is a must in hard-hit south, west Modesto. Mobile solution is best

Everyone should cheer when Stanislaus County finally establishes a COVID-19 testing site in west Modesto, maybe in a couple of weeks. It will be a blessing to many in a coronavirus hotspot marked by lower-income neighborhoods.

In truth, its arrival comes several weeks late.

Another nearby hotspot — south Modesto, with a similar demographic makeup — might be out of luck, as it doesn’t seem to be on anyone’s radar as a potential testing site.

It’s disappointing that people in these two disadvantaged areas aren’t being tested in their own neighborhoods. The tragedy is compounded because many have few means of travel to the government’s three free testing sites, in Salida, Keyes and Patterson.

Since the coronavirus began invading California a couple of months ago, medical experts have noted the unfairness of its spread. Here, as all over the United States, the virus has preyed on those most acquainted with poverty.

Minorities suffer more from coronavirus

When Stanislaus County finally released COVID data by ZIP code instead of just by cities, The Bee reported that Latinos — 47% of our population — account for 64% of Stanislaus cases (it’s now 60%).

Comparatively well-to-do neighborhoods north of downtown Modesto have registered 5.5 cases for every 10,000 people. You’re twice as likely to get COVID-19 if you live just across Highway 99 in west Modesto, or in areas of south Modesto sharing the 95351 ZIP code, which is recording nearly 13 cases per 10,000 residents.

It’s possible those numbers would climb even higher if more people with fewer resources had ready access to public testing. But widespread testing is exactly what’s needed to help track, address and contain the spread.

County officials have worked with community groups in west and south Modesto, particularly the Latino Emergency Council and the NAACP’s local chapter, to suggest areas most in need of testing and potential locations. West Modesto’s King-Kennedy Memorial Center seemed the obvious choice, and its owner, Modesto City Hall, was willing. But that effort was scrapped Thursday because the center’s air conditioning isn’t working and 100-degree temperatures are coming.

County government, which recently received $96 million specifically for COVID-19 expenses, should consider an option that could solve multiple problems: Forget brick-and-mortar buildings and hire a mobile testing service.

Agencies throughout the United States have discovered the benefits of a mobile testing van or trailer, which can easily bring this important service directly to the people instead of requiring that the people travel to the service.

For example, Carbon Health, a small medical provider, has parked its pickup-hauled testing trailer in visible parking lots in the Bay Area.

“Frankly, people drive by the mall, they see our mobile testing vans and they’re flocking (to them),” said Dr. Caesar Djavaherian, Carbon Health co-founder.

“One patient in San Francisco — and we have dozens of these stories — said, `I’m so grateful; I’ve been self-isolating from family because it wasn’t till today I could get the test done for free.’ When it came back negative, they felt they had enough information to feel comfortable again with their family.”

Mobile testing is nimble

Picture this happening in the King-Kennedy Center’s parking lot. People stream in for tests that take on average four or five minutes. No need for AC or anything else in the actual building. No need for government to spend weeks slogging through red tape.

When business starts to lag — a consistent problem with existing public testing sites in Salida, Keyes and Patterson — the trailer could simply move a few blocks to a strip mall on Paradise Avenue, then somewhere in south Modesto. Soon it could make its way over to Ceres, down to Turlock, out to migrant farmworker camps — you get the idea.

We’ve all learned that the coronavirus must not be taken lightly. It has touched, changed and ended lives across the globe. Until a vaccine is developed and widely available, testing remains the key to confronting this pandemic.

Bringing free tests where they are most needed is not just compassionate; it’s smart. Leaders must do more to provide better access to testing in our disadvantaged, disproportionately affected areas, including west and south Modesto.

This story was originally published May 23, 2020 at 5:00 AM.