Riverside County Mobile Testing Team Provides Testing This Weekend in Cathedral City and Blythe

Riverside County’s mobile testing team and the Desert Healthcare Foundation are partnering to provide community COVID testing and education at churches in Cathedral City and Blythe this weekend.

Coronavirus testing will be available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, December 26 at the St. Louis Catholic Church in Cathedral City, 68-633 C St. A testing event will also be held from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, December 27 at the St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Blythe, 875 E Chanslor Way.

Testing is open to anyone. Appointments are encouraged and can be made through the following links:Cathedral City (Dec. 26), http://bit.ly/StLouisTestingBlythe (Dec. 27), http://bit.ly/StJoanofArcTesting

All residents are encouraged to get tested, which helps public health officials identify cases and ultimately slow the spread of the virus by more effectively isolating those who are COVID positive so they can recover without passing the virus to others. Testing is for everyone, regardless of immigration status, insurance, or whether one has symptoms or not. There is no charge to the individual.

Testing should not be done in order to gather for the holidays. A negative test result is only from the point of time one got tested and the virus could be incubating. One can still catch COVID-19 from people who are COVID-positive and may not know it. As the hospitals are under immense strain, it is important everyone keep their guard up and follow the public health requirements.

“With the rapid spread of coronavirus, it is important to have testing closer and widely available in our communities to slow the spread of this virus,” said Supervisor V. Manuel Perez. “I am very proud of the workers, many who are volunteers, at all testing sites who have been working throughout a pandemic, putting their own health at risk. They have worked in chilly and sizzling weather alike and have administered a phenomenal amount of nearly a million and a half tests this year.”

These temporary testing locations supplement the testing site at the Riverside County Fairgrounds in Indio, and state-operated testing sites at the Palm Springs Convention Center and in Desert Hot Springs. Riverside County residents are also getting tested at pharmacies, community health centers, nonprofit health clinics, hospitals, private testing sites and urgent cares.

The Riverside County mobile testing team and Desert Healthcare Foundation are also conducting testing at Oasis Mobile Home Park today, Wednesday, December 23, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. for residents. This event is an effort to prevent outbreaks, amid concerns of rising case numbers throughout the eastern Coachella Valley.

For information on testing and county and state-operated testing sites, visit https://gettested.ruhealth.org.

Supervisor V. Manuel Perez is the chair of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, representing the eastern two-thirds of Riverside County as the Fourth District Supervisor. Stretching from Palm Springs and Desert Hot Springs, south to the Salton Sea and east to Blythe and the Colorado River, the Fourth District is the largest geographical district in the county.

Supervisor Perez’s office hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.