According to state Health Department (SSJ) data, a little over two million tests for Covid-19 have been carried out in Jalisco since the start if the pandemic.
Of these, around 20 percent (one in five) have been confirmed as positive, a much higher proportion than in most other countries. (According to criteria published by the WHO in May 2020, a positive rate of less than five percent is one indicator that the epidemic is under control in a country.)
Although tests are given free of charge at the state Epidemiological Laboratory and at several University of Guadalajara (UdG) sites, 67.58 percent of all tests in Jalisco have been carried out at private laboratories.
People wth Covid symptoms can call to book a free test (and also obtain information, in Spanish, about the disease) from the state government’s Radar Jalisco program call center at 333-823-3220. The University of Guadalajara hotline number is 333-540-3001, open Monday to Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
While the Mexico City government has established a range of testing options in the capital’s malls and pharmacies, residents of Guadalajara and outlying towns unable to obtain an appointment with the Health Department or UdG have been forced to turn to a limited number of private labs for tests. However, as demand for tests surged, booking an online appointment at two of the most popular metro-area labs, Salud Digna and Chopo, proved almost impossible.
Meanwhile, Jalisco’s Economic Development Secretary Roberto Arechederra Pacheco urged businesses to play their part in keeping the Covid transmission rate down by having their employees take random tests.