Actor Sean Penn, Mayor Lightfoot Visit New Coronavirus Test Sites

CHICAGO — Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Hollywood humanitarian Sean Penn Monday toured the first free coronavirus testing sites set up last week by the actor's charity Community Organized Relief Organization and Curative-Korva.

Since Wednesday, the first two testing locations at Saucedo Scholastic Academy in Little Village and Prieto Math and Science Academy in Belmont Craigin have conducted over 800 tests. Four additional testing sites are set to open in coming weeks at Kennedy-King College in Englewood, Senka Park in Gage Park and Gately Park in Pullman, along with testing for first responders at Sox Park in Bridgeport.

“These new sites serve as the cornerstone of our effort to dramatically expand COVID-19 testing in Chicago through the rest of the month, with a special focus on our communities of color, which have been disproportionately impacted by this disease,” Lightfoot said.

“With the incredible support from our partners at CORE and Curative, our entire city will also be able to move that much closer to Phase Three of our reopening plan that will allow us to safely ease restrictions on many businesses, support our recovery from this crisis, and get Chicago back on track.”

Curative-Korva is a start-up firm run by Fred Turner, a 25-year-old British wunderkind. The firm created a method to test for COVID-19 using a specimen collected by swabbing the inside of the mouth after coughing, eliminating the need for swabs in short supply.

Penn stressed the importance of civilian organizations partnering with government to offer help during the coronavirus crisis.

"We cannot function without partners ... we can test and trace all we like but without food assistance, for example, and other areas of this holistic movement we are impotent," Penn said. "None of us are excited to be having a pandemic. But within that pandemic there is great excitement over the example we can be of the citizenry being a constituency of help that government needs. That partnership is needed now more than ever."

In addition to the testing sites, Penn's team has joined with world-renowned chef and humanitarian José Andrés's group, World Central Kitchen, to provide meals to medical workers and staff manning testing sites. Andrés said his organization has tapped local restaurants closed under the stay-home order to prepare the meals.

Over the last month, World Central Kitchen has served 75,000 fresh meals to Chicagoans in need and the city's frontline workers at hospitals, testing sites, senior centers and other community sites.

"We partnered with the only people who I know how to partner with, my fellow chefs. ... All of the sudden the restaurant industry is closed across America. ... Are you telling me we are wasting food, throwing it away at farms and at the same time we have long lines of people going hungry," he said. "Let me tell you, we don't believe in long lines. We believe in long tables. Who better than cooks and restaurants to be of service of the system of making sure no one is hungry especially during an emergency."

Lightfoot said she hopes the new testing sites will increase the number of tests conducted in Chicago from its current average of about 3,500 a day to 10,000 daily.

"Because of this quick and effective work we will not only be able to identify new cases in our city, we will also be able to dramatically improve our knowledge of this virus and it's movement across communities, so we will be able to fine tune our response [in] those communities and neighborhoods most in need," the mayor said.