Staff checks in a COVID-19 testing patient at a drive-up testing site for the coronavirus at Veterans Stadium in Long Beach Monday, August 10, 2020. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova. County officials are seeing a decline in the number of people seeking tests for COVID-19, possibly due to poor air quality from fires around the Southern California area. An average of about 11,200 people got tested per day over the week starting Sept. 5, down from more than 20,000 people being tested per week in early August. Long Beach also saw its testing decline to 550 people per day for the week of Sept. 7, down steadily from close to 1,000 people just a few weeks ago. The downturn in testing came as the county closed some COVID-19 testing centers through the weekend due to concerns stemming from unhealthy air quality caused by the Bobcat Fire. Testing sites at East L.A. College in Monterey Park, the Pomona Fairplex and San Gabriel Valley Airport in El Monte were closed Saturday and Sunday, while the site at College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita was closed Sunday. “We encourage people to get tested if you’re having any symptoms or have been […]