San Francisco Officials Crack Down On Illegal, Pop-Up COVID Testing Sites
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Two testing operators were issued subpoenas Thursday as part of an investigation by San Francisco officials of allegedly unlicensed sites popping up in the city and performing COVID tests.
In a news release, City Attorney David Chiu said he was issuing subpoenas to Community Wellness America, Inc. and Crestview Clinical Laboratory, LLC.
Earlier this month, individuals representing Community Wellness America, Inc. were reported to be offering COVID tests on public property in San Francisco.
It is unclear whether the individuals staffing the pop-up testing operation had the adequate training to perform COVID tests or what they were doing with the information and samples they were collecting.
"Protecting the integrity of our COVID testing operations is crucial as we grapple with a surge in COVID cases," Chiu said. "We cannot allow rogue actors to exploit this Omicron surge for profit. We will get to the bottom of this and ensure any bad actors are held accountable."
In addition to a number of properly authorized private operators, testing sites affiliated with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and large health care systems account for more than 60 percent of tests administered daily within the city.
Members of the public in need of a COVID test were encouraged to first contact their healthcare provider for a test, if they have one, and then explore SFDPH-affiliated testing site options. For a list of testing sites in San Francisco, go to: sf.gov/getttested
