On April 18, 2024, a small white foldout table was set up on the corner of Polk and Geary Streets. A man with a cell phone attached to a lanyard had spread several packaged swabs across the surface, as about a dozen people waited for some type of service.
A few of the people in line appeared to be highly intoxicated, and one had difficulty standing.
A man who did not want to be identified said he was there to get a Covid test. “They’re giving us five dollars,” he said. “I don’t know how, if it’s on a gift card or just money, but five dollars is five dollars, you know.”
I approached the person staffing the table and asked what was being offered and by whom. He confirmed they were administering Covid tests and he was with Gentech Laboratories. Everyone who took the test would receive $5 in cash on the spot.
Gentech Laboratories is in violation of city orders
In November 2023, under pressure from San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu, Mayor London Breed, Health Officer Dr. Susan Philip, and SFPD Chief Bill Scott, Gentech agreed to cease all outdoor virus testing in San Francisco. Because these pop-up testing sites had been located in areas known for open-air drug markets, such as Lower Polk and the Tenderloin, city officials determined that the instant cash payments facilitated drug sales and activity.
As noted by Mayor Breed at the time in a statement from Chiu’s office: “Ensuring people have access to public health resources is critical, but we cannot let others use this as an opportunity to facilitate and worsen the drug crisis on our streets. This is part of the broader work we are doing to improve the conditions on our streets while providing safe, accessible services for our residents. I want to thank our city attorney, department of public health, and police department for working together to remove these operations from our streets.”
$5 is just enough to buy a dose of illegal fentanyl.
Now the testing company is back in business and once again is targeting low-income communities most impacted by the illicit drug trade industry. Five dollars is just enough to buy a dose of illegal fentanyl, so it is particularly attractive to people suffering with addiction and who are looking for their next fix.
We contacted the city attorney’s office on April 19, and have yet to hear back. The Voice of San Francisco will follow up with more information as it comes in.