Is Covid-19 community level testing effective in reaching at-risk populations? Evidence from spatial analysis of New Orleans patient data at walk-up sites.

Background: This paper evaluates the increase in coverage and use of Covid-19 testing services for vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations through the introduction of community-based walk-up sites in New Orleans, LA. While most GIS work on Covid-19 testing coverage and access has used census tract or ZIP code aggregated data, this manuscript is unique in that it uses individual level demographics and exact addresses to calculate distances actually traveled by patients.

Methods: We used testing data recorded for 9721 patients at 20 sites operating in May-June 2020.