COVID-19 Testing Sites by Chicago Public School Districts
Testing sites for COVID-19 are spread out all across Chicago. However, some areas see more testing sites than others.
According to the Chicago Data Portal map on COVID-19 testing sites, 81 testing sites are located towards the southern half of Chicago, while 64 sites are located in the northern half of Chicago.
School Districts such as George Washington High School and Bogan High School on the southside have only 1 testing site though they are some of the largest school districts by area. George Washington High School is located on the far southeast side of Chicago and has around 1,500 students. Bogan High School, located on the southwest side of Chicago, is a slightly smaller school with around 800 students. With one testing site in each of these school districts, it would take weeks to test all of the students and teachers along with all of the residents in those areas.
In comparison to southside high schools, the district of Lincoln Park High School, located on the northeast side of Chicago, has around 2,000 students and has 6 COVID-19 testing sites. Lincoln Park High School is located in the densely populated Lincoln Park area which does account for the higher number of COVID-19 testing locations, however the difference of one testing site and 6 can be a matter of life or death.
The northside of Chicago, although having only 64 sites in comparison to the southside’s 81 testing sites, has a disproportionately higher rate of testing sites closer towards downtown. On the southside, the closer to downtown, the rate of testing sites does increase, but does not appear densely populated. Factoring in the population of these areas, the downtown portion, whether north or south, should have a fairly equal amount of testing sites. However, there is a visible gap if testing sites on the southside just outside of downtown.
