The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services announced it is prepared to deliver an urgent expansion of the County’s free COVID-19 testing services amidst Holiday demand effective Friday, Dec. 24.

Demand for COVID-19 testing is steadily increasing as County residents rush to get tested before gathering with loved ones and as a direct result of L.A. County’s surge in new cases. The expansion of access to COVID-19 testing includes the relaunching of the Holiday Home Test Collection Program with new guidelines to reach more people and make it easier to get tested.

“L.A. County residents are doing right by getting tested as a precaution before gathering, if they have been exposed and at the first sign of symptoms,” said Dr. Christina Ghaly, Director of Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. “Getting tested and isolating as needed plays a vital role in our collective fight against the current Holiday surge, we encourage anyone – including those who are vaccinated – to get tested if they believe they have been exposed or are experiencing symptoms. We will continue to closely monitor testing needs and adjust capacity as needed in the coming weeks.”

Expansion of LA County COVID-19 Testing Services is effective Friday, Dec. 24, 2021. All services are free and can be accessed at https://covid19.lacounty.gov/testing/.

Capacity expansion includes:

– Extended hours of operation at sites across Los Angeles County

– Additional week and weekend dates

– Additional mobile testing units in hard-hit areas

– Relaunch of Holiday Home Test Collection Program with new guidelines to reach more people and make it easier to get tested. The link is here: https://covid19.lacounty.gov/hometest. Any L.A. County resident who is symptomatic or believes they were exposed to COVID-19 can order a home testing kit. Home testing kits require swab collection to be mailed back for PCR test results.

L.A. County COVID-19 testing services are available at no out-of-pocket cost and can be accessed by anyone regardless of insurance or immigration status.