NOTE: April testing dates sold out
SIGN PETITION BELOW FOR EXPANDED TESTING

By Joel P. Engardio

Testing is how we will beat the coronavirus pandemic while we wait for a vaccine, experts say. We need to know who is infected so they can isolate and we need to know who is immune so they can work without fear of infection. 

That’s why nearly 300 San Franciscans signed our petition asking Stonestown Galleria to offer its parking lot as a coronavirus testing site. Westside residents in particular wanted an accessible location for the many seniors who live in the area.

Initial good news
The first piece of good news came within hours after the petition was launched on March 27. Darren Iverson, the mall’s general manager, called to say owner Brookfield Properties was willing to let the health department or a private company use the parking lot for testing.

We continued gathering petition signatures, however, because we wanted city officials or a healthcare provider to take Brookfield up on their offer.

Testing announced
More good news arrived when Brookfield announced that Carbon Health would operate COVID-19 testing at the Stonestown parking lot starting April 15.

Carbon Health is a San Francisco-based tech and healthcare start-up that runs in-person primary and urgent care clinics along with virtual doctor visits by app. Carbon Health plans to open a clinic at Stonestown when construction on the mall renovation can continue. Until then, it will set up a trailer on the mall’s theater parking lot for coronavirus testing.

The Stonestown site will use a rapid COVID-19 test developed by Abbott Laboratories that delivers results in one day or less.

Testing details
The Stonestown testing site is open to anyone who has symptoms or is at-risk. Other testing locations in San Francisco, like Pier 30-32, only allow first responders, frontline workers and city employees to get tested.

The Stonestown mobile testing clinic does not offer walk-ins. You must schedule an appointment on the Carbon Health website or app (click here). The Carbon Health website has a FAQ section with more details about how the testing works, including insurance and cost (click here).

The initial testing dates of April 15 to 17 quickly sold out. Sign the petition below to ask for expanded testing.

Limitations
The Stonestown site does not include drive-through testing, as the initial petition requested. People must park their car and then enter the trailer at the appointed time.

This is not a perfect solution, but it is a start. Many hurdles — including supply, distribution and staffing — continue to delay large scale testing for all.

Next steps
I want to thank everyone who signed the petition to get us this far. Your voice made a difference. We helped turn the empty Stonestown parking lot into a limited testing site with the potential for much more.  

That’s why we should keep the petition going. This petition continues to ask for expanded coronavirus testing at the Stonestown parking lot with a drive-through option. We also request tests that determine both infection and immunity.

Joel Engardio is a candidate for supervisor on San Francisco’s westside in District 7. Learn more about his views on local issues at engardio.com/issues

CALL TO ACTION
This petition asks:

• City Hall to expand testing and waive any permit or zoning requirements that could delay Brookfield Properties from creating a drive-through COVID-19 testing site in its Stonestown mall parking lot in partnership with health care providers and private, medical testing companies. San Franciscans want an accessible testing site on the Westside that is available to anyone and tests for both coronavirus infection and immunity.