A COVID-19 testing site will open up near the U.S.- Mexico border later this week, San Diego County officials said.

The COVID-19 testing site is planned to be set up just outside a San Ysidro pedestrian crossing in San Diego, California, where thousands of people crossed the border every day.

According to an Associated Press report, the planned COVID-19 testing site is the first to be set up in one of the world's busiest pedestrian international border crossings.

The location is also thought to be the closest to the U.S- Mexico border in any state, Los Angeles Times reported.

As quoted by ABC San Diego, County Supervisor Greg Cox said Wednesday that the testing site would be at San Ysidro Port of Entry's PedWest crossing. It will serve around 200 COVID-19 tests daily.

On regular days, the crossing sees around 20,000 people enter the U.S., but the number had gone down with the pandemic.

County officials are hoping that the effort will help in their data-driven, community-led strategy to slow the spread of the COVID-19 in South Bay communities.

The disproportionate spread of the virus along South County regions know it is no secret to officials. Cases in these regions continue to climb as the rest of the country combats the virus.

They said some of the factors that add to the increase in cases include differences in access to health care, a large portion of the population is essential workers, and the lack of affordable housing.

Role of Border Proximity

County officials said having a testing site near the border is going to play a positive role in their fight against the pandemic.

San Diego County itself has a high case rate, with nearly 32,000 cases among its 3.3 million residents. It also tests much higher than the state to its south, Baja California.

Of the 3.3 million residents in Baja California, 14,200 of them are positive of COVID-19.

The two states are linked daily by travel that flows through the border, from both directions.

The travel takes place because, even though there are travel restrictions on non-essential activity, many of those who cross the border are essential workers in healthcare, public agencies, and restaurants.

Testing for Essential Workers

County officials know that essential workers are having difficulty finding time to get tested, even though their group is at higher risk of contracting the virus.

The new testing site is designed to serve the essential workforce, with an expected operating cost of $309,000 per month. Essential workers coming from Mexico are going to be offered the tests at the appointment-free, walk-up site, said Cox.

This will add to the Customs Border Protection officials' efforts to look for symptoms of the virus but don't perform testing of their own.

The new testing site will run from Monday to Friday and will accept its first walk-up patients early in the morning, as this time, workers are likely to cross the border.

It is also near San Ysidro Transit Center, making it easy for nearby residents to come in.

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