With less than two weeks before Thanksgiving, passengers worried about transmitting the coronavirus on their trip can get tested at Los Angeles International Airport with results back within 24 hours.
Beginning Tuesday, Clarity Lab Solutions will offer an FDA-approved nasal swab test for $150, LAX officials announced Monday as they braced for what is normally some of the busiest travel days. Though this year, airlines are seeing reservations at just a fraction of what's expected.
The pilot program also comes as county health officials report a recent spike in coronavirus cases and prepare for more as the holidays approach. Los Angeles remains in the most restrictive category of California's reopening blueprint.
On Friday, the California Department of Public health issued an advisory notice recommending that travelers arriving in California quarantine for 14 days and that residents of the state stay home and avoid non-essential travel.
This is the "first phase" of the airport's COVID testing plans. In early December, the airport — the nation's second busiest last year — will open an on-site rapid test lab to deliver quicker results.
Until that unit is unveiled, the New Jersey-based company will process test results at a downtown lab location, according to an LAX spokesperson.
The PCR tests are available on a walk-in basis at the check-in counters at the Tom Bradley International Terminal and the arrivals side of Terminals 2 and 6, home to airlines including Southwest, Delta and Virgin Atlantic. The pop-ups will stay open seven days a week from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
The testing site that'll open in December was developed by SG Blocks, a company that turns shipping containers into pop-up businesses, and the architecture firm Grimshaw. It'll sit across from Terminal 6 on the lower arrival levels.
Clarity Lab Solutions will operate the facility where visitors can purchase either a PCR test or a rapid antigen test that delivers results in "just a few hours." Both are diagnostic tests that scan for active infection of the virus. It is unclear how much the antigen test will cost.
"By providing easy access to on-site COVID-19 tests, we are enabling the return of air travel to destinations that require a negative test to avoid quarantines or other government restrictions and helping our guests who must travel during the holidays and beyond to do so safely," said Justin Erbacci, CEO of Los Angeles World Airports, which owns LAX, in a statement.
In September, the airport introduced the testing centers in a statement claiming they would likely be erected by Nov. 1.
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Snap’s parental controls.
Courtesy of Watchful.
Snapchat is planning to introduce Family Center, which would allow parents to see who their children are friends with on the app and who they’ve messaged within the last seven days, according to screenshots provided by Watchful, a product intelligence company. Parents would also be able help their kids report abuse or harassment.
The parental controls are still subject to change before finally launching publicly, as the Family Center screenshots—which were first reported by TechCrunch—reflect features that are still under development.
Santa Monica-based Snap and other social media giants have faced mounting criticism for not doing more to protect their younger users—some of whom have been bullied, sold deadly drugs and sexually exploited on their platforms. State attorneys general have urged Snap and Culver City-based TikTok to strengthen their parental controls, with both companies’ apps especially popular among teens.
A Snap spokesperson declined to comment on Friday. Previously, Snap representatives have told dot.LA that the company is developing tools that will provide parents with more insight into how their children are engaging on Snapchat and allow them to report troubling content.
Yet Snap’s approach to parental controls could still give teens some privacy, as parents wouldn’t be able to read the actual content of their kids’ conversations, according to TechCrunch. (The Family Center screenshots seen by dot.LA do not detail whether parents can see those conversations).
In addition, teenage users would first have to accept an invitation from their parents to join the in-app Family Center before those parents can begin monitoring their social media activity, TechCrunch reported.