BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez on Wednesday announced a community-based COVID-19 testing site will open in east Bakersfield at the Richard Prado Senior Center to provide free tests for underserved communities.

The 5th District Supervisor said she’s working in coordination with the governor’s office on the Verily testing site.

“As we know, communities of color are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 at an alarming rate,” Perez said in a release. “There is an inequitable amount of testing and treatment being done in these communities and the data show us that there is an increasingly higher death rate for African American and Latino patients suffering from this virus.”

She said the test site will be set up during the next week and will begin taking appointments using Verily’s online system.