COVID-19 tests are getting harder to come by, that’s why National City gave away free at-home testing kits to the community Tuesday.
The demand for the tests was so high that many people left empty-handed as the kits were gone within half an hour.
One mother could be seen crying in distress as she feared she was too late. She said she needed a test for her daughter who was sick.
As tears rolled down her face, National City Mayor Alejandra Sotelo-Solis saw her and handed her one of the last kits.
“This is life or death. So for a person to be waiting here at 5:30 in the morning to get two tests per box. It’s a good reflection and a good reminder that the pandemic is really about a person's quality of life and the need is great,” Sotelo-Solis said. “We need to continue to provide these resources as we have from the testing to the turkeys, to the vaccines.”
National City only had 1,000 COVID-19 testing kits to give out. The line outside the National City Library mirrored the massive lines seen in previous days across the county for COVID testing.
Esther Torbert had already been to several libraries in search of a COVID-19 test, but she didn't have luck until Tuesday.
“I heard about this at 5 o’clock. So the first thing I did was call a couple of people," she said. "Come on, I'm in the car, come on in, and my daughter-in-law was the only one who jumped in.”
Torbert said she needs the tests to keep her family safe.
Tests were only given to people present in the line. One test kit per person only and each kit came with two tests.
Mari Carmen, a resident from National City was given one of the last tests before they ran out. She said it was a blessing that there were still enough for her.
National City has been one of the communities hardest hit by COVID-19.
Sotelo-Solis said they’re working with the state health department to get more tests as the need is clearly high.
The National City School District said it is also working on getting testing kits for students before they return from break Monday.
