Mar 8, 2021
In an effort to curtail the spread of COVID-19, Chinese Hospital has continued its COVID-19 prevention campaign to urge the public to continue getting tested. While expanding vaccination clinics has been its recent focus, Chinese Hospital still maintains its on-site testing services to promote community access to testing. Chinese Hospital also holds weekly testing events at Chinatown Portsmouth Square, in collaboration with City of SF and other community partners including Teochew Community Center and Chinese Community Health Resource Center.
“Widespread vaccination is the key to overcoming the pandemic and returning to normal life, so I highly encourage all to get vaccinated when it is their turn.” Dr. Jian Zhang, CEO of Chinese Hospital says. “It also makes a tremendous difference if we continue to practice the other steps to reduce the disease spread: mask-wearing, social distancing, and testing. That goes for everyone, both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.”
With a recent decline in statewide and local positive cases and greater public attention and demand for vaccination, testing numbers have been steadily dropping—a concerning trend according to health experts.
“The community must make sure to get tested if they meet the testing criteria” Dr. Scott Huang, Medical Director of Chinese Community Health Services says. “Even with the increasing rate of vaccinations, there is a lot that we do not know about the vaccine’s efficacy in preventing viral transmission. At the time same, several variants of the virus are starting to emerge and we are still learning more about their infectiousness. High rates of testing are instrumental to our ability to detect these variants and prevent outbreaks, resulting in fewer hospitalizations and deaths.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the following individuals should still get tested:
• People who have symptoms of COVID-19.
• People who have had close contact (within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more) with someone with confirmed COVID-19.
• People who have taken part in activities that put them at higher risk for COVID-19 because they cannot socially distance as needed, such as travel, attending large social or mass gatherings, or being in crowded indoor settings.
• People who have been asked or referred to get testing by their healthcare provider, local, external icon or state health department.
Chinese Hospital and City of SF will continue to hold free weekly testing events at Chinatown Portsmouth Square through the month of March from 10am to 2pm on Wednesdays (3/10, 3/17, 3/24, 3/31). The community is also welcome to make an appointment for testing services at Chinese Hospital and Clinics by calling 1-628-228-2828.
