A Redondo Beach shopping center will soon host the first public drive-through coronavirus testing center in the South Bay, Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said this week.

Hahn, in a Facebook video posted Wednesday, April 1, said officials plan to open a testing center at the South Bay Galleria for those 65 years of age and older. Patients must have COVID-19 symptoms and have a reservation. The COVID-19 test is free and, for now, limited to residents of L.A. County who are in the most high-risk categories.

A spokeswoman for Hahn said the center is set to open Friday morning, April 3.

In a statement Thursday, the county clarified who is considered high risk: L.A. county residents 65 and older and/or residents who have an underlying health condition. Those conditions include diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, chronic lung disease and moderate-to-severe asthma. Those who have compromised immune systems, including as a result of cancer treatment, would qualify as well. Also included are residents who have been quarantined due to exposure to a confirmed case of COVID-19, if they have more than seven days of the 14-day quarantine period remaining.

The screening website is lacovidprod.service-now.com/rrs

The Los Angeles County Fire Department will operate the South Bay Galleria testing location, with assistance from the Redondo Beach Fire and Police departments, and in partnership with the Beach Cities Health District, Hahn said.

The South Bay Galleria is one of 10 drive-through sites planned throughout the county, Hahn said. Public health officials announced Tuesday, March 31, that public testing would pop up this week across the county, from Lancaster to Redondo Beach to Pomona, to bring more widespread COVID-19 testing to the region.

COVID-19, which stands for coronavirus disease 2019, is caused by a virus named SARS-CoV-2. Symptoms associated with the respiratory disease, which appear two-to-14 days after exposure, include fever, a cough and shortness of breath. While most people — including healthy young adults — will experience mild symptoms, the disease can be severe and possibly fatal for at-risk groups, such as the elderly and those with other health problems.

The drive-through testing will be done via either nasal swabbing or mouth swabbing, Hahn spokeswoman Liz Odendahl said in an email Thursday. Medical personnel will perform the nasal swabs, while the mouth swabs will be self-administered, she added.

The galleria, 1815 Hawthorne Blvd., is the first public drive-through coronavirus testing center to open in the South Bay, but the Palos Verdes Medical Group operates a private drive-up center on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.