LOGAN SQUARE — Of the city’s three static coronavirus testing sites, the Belmont Cragin site is the busiest.
Since opening May 13, the Belmont Cragin site at Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academy, 2231 N. Central Ave., has administered more than 68,000 tests through Oct. 27, according to Chicago Department of Public Health spokeswoman Elena Ivanova.
That accounts for about 46 percent of all tests performed at the static sites, Ivanova said. Not too far behind is Maria Saucedo Academy, 2850 W. 24th Blvd., in Little Village, which has administered about 38 percent of tests. Gately Park, 844 E. 103rd St., in Pullman, is by far the least busy, having administered about 15 percent of tests, she said.
Belmont Cragin, home to the city’s largest Latino population, has struggled with the virus since the start of the pandemic, which is why the city opened a testing site there. But, interestingly enough, Belmont Cragin residents don’t make up the largest share of patients at Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academy, according to data provided by the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Data reveals people living in the neighbor 60647 ZIP code — an area that includes all of Logan Square and parts of Bucktown and Humboldt Park — are getting tested at the Belmont Cragin site the most.
About 11,750 residents from 60647 have been tested at the site May 13-Oct. 27, compared to about 10,121 Belmont Cragin residents (60639 ZIP code), according to the data.
The 60618 ZIP code, which includes Avondale, Irving Park and North Center, ranks third, with 7,039 residents tested at the site.
Ranking fourth is the 60641 ZIP code, which includes part of Belmont Cragin, old Irving Park and Portage Park, with 5,163 residents tested.
And in fifth is the 60651 ZIP code, covering parts of Humboldt Park and Austin, with 3,618 residents tested.
The white population has surpassed the Latino population in Logan Square. But data shows more Latino residents are getting at the Belmont Cragin site than white residents. The site has seen 31,255 Latino residents through the same time period, compared to 26,972 white residents. About 3,857 residents declined to share their race, according to the data.
Ivanova said in an email the city is proud that more than 60 percent of residents tested at the Belmont Cragin site are from 60639 or neighboring zip codes.
The city spokeswoman said the city has also deployed mobile testing teams 20 times to the Belmont Cragin area in an effort to control the outbreak there.
Coronavirus testing in Chicago has spiked in recents weeks as the city — and the state — battles a second wave of the pandemic. Dr. Jorge Prieto Math and Science Academy has drawn long lines resulting in long wait times.
City officials said while city sites are designed to supplement testing performed at health clinics, they aim to expand testing “with special considerations” for communities struggling with an outbreak or with a “social vulnerability.”
Chicago’s biggest coronavirus surge is on the Southwest Side in the 60629 and 60632 ZIP codes — which include parts of Gage Park, West Elsdon, Marquette Park, Chicago Lawn, West Lawn, Brighton Park and Archer Heights — where a static testing site doesn’t exist. Mobile testing sites have been deployed there, however.
Ivanova said the city is planning to roll out “winterized mobile sites” in the next couple of weeks.
The Belmont Cragin site will be closed Tuesday so people can vote.
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