Sean Penn's nonprofit CORE provides coronavirus testing in Los Angeles - Business Insider

That's essentially what happened.Silverstein: And who are the workers, Ann, who are taking care of getting this testing done?Ann Lee: So one of the big things that's allowed us to not just increase the intake of people who are coming through the test sites is it's mostly because of the types of tests that we're actually using. That allows the fire department to redeploy to the streets and stations around the city and respond to the public health issue and all of the other issues that they have to point their skillsets at.Silverstein: And how many tests have you been able to administer so far in California?Penn: Ann, do you know what the total is?Lee: So far, as at the end of yesterday, it was over 15,000 tests, and we've been operating for about two full weeks. [Editor's note: We received an update from CORE immediately after the interview stating that CORE had administered 20,000 tests since March 30.]Silverstein: And where do the tests come from?Lee: So the tests are coming from the mayor's office. So we have the test kits, as well as the list of people who are registered for that day coming through the company, as well as the mayor's office.Silverstein: And who are you testing, and is there anything that these people need to know? Is it PPE?Penn: I don't think-Lee: Go ahead. And so we're going to do it so that it's really, truly replicable on the terms of that area.Silverstein: And Ann, what are you learning on the ground, from the people who are coming in to get tested? I think there's a lot of anxiety that people who are locked in their homes and they see people doing incredible work and they want to be able to do something. I think in Mayor Garcetti's speech last night, he was showing that the social distancing is making a very, very clear impact on the number of people who are getting into hospitals. It's working, and we need to stay home, and we need to continue to do so.Silverstein: And just to go back to testing for a moment, are you seeing any people coming back for more testing? It's not sustainable to continue a quarantine culture, but that's why on all levels of what we are trying to do, we want to help in our way to get us back to being able to do that as soon as possible.Silverstein: And what percentage of the population do you think has to be able to have access to tests in order for us to reopen the economy?Penn: Well, this is, I guess, outside my pay grade, but I do understand that for herd immunity, it's 78%.