SAN DIEGO — As the Delta variant continues to spread, there's an increase in the number of people getting tested for COVID-19.
But, some News 8 viewers say they're having trouble finding a place to get tested.
"I need it today because I'm not feeling good and that's my concern right now," said Lucy Martinez.
Martinez and her family drove from Vista to Clairemont Tuesday for a COVID test after being turned away closer to home.
News 8 asked,
“Did you try places there before coming here?
Yes.
How many?
Like 3 to 4.
And what did they tell you?
"They told me I needed an appointment,” Martinez said.
Martinez and her family wound up at a pop up clinic in a parking lot off Balboa Avenue, where workers say testing has increased dramatically over the past several weeks.
"Three and a half weeks ago, four weeks ago, it was five to 15 people in a day, sometimes five in a day. Now, yesterday, it was 72," said William Little.
County sites are seeing the same type of demand.
At one in Linda Vista Tuesday, a sign out front read no more walk-ins.
County wide, during the month of July, the daily number of COVID tests fluctuated from a low of 3,621 July 6 to a high of 15,142 July 29.
Not nearly as high as the winter months, when the county averaged 30,000 tests a day, but still an increase.
County officials tell News 8 they are working on opening more sites, starting with four this week alone, including at Cal State San Marcos, where on Tuesday morning, 100 people were already waiting in line.
“Worked over the last week to make sure we're ready to go and opened first thing this morning and we're back in business at Cal State San Marcos," said testing project coordinator Ryan Clabo.
Clabo tells News 8 at this point, the county can handle the surge and is focused on keeping up with it for as long as needed.
"We wanna make this easy for them. That's why we're concentrated on opening up more sites, larger sites that we can handle a larger volume of people," said Clabo.
As for how to find a location -- the county website is a good place to start.
There, you can find county testing locations, hours and information on whether you can walk in or need an appointment.
Pharmacies like CVS also offer testing, as do other private entities.
On average, results come back in one to two days.
With or without insurance, several places offer free tests, with the exception of rapid tests and co-pays if you get one from certain medical providers.
WATCH RELATED: UC San Diego installs COVID-19 test vending machines on campus (Jan. 2021)