Monday morning Kern County District Supervisor Leticia Perez held a soft opening of the drive-thru testing site in east Bakersfield.

And Supervisor Perez brought a special guest to the unveiling of the latest testing site. Actor, director, and philanthropist Sean Penn was working with CORE, a non-profit that helped provide funding for this testing site.

In a statement, Perez said "CORE (Community Organized Relief Effort), who provides the operational function of this site is an emergency relief nonprofit organizati on co founded by Sean Penn and Ann Lee. CORE is focused on expanding free COVID 19 testing to vulnerable and underserved communities, including low income groups and communities of color as well as first responders and essential workers."

CORE co-founders Sean Penn and Ann Lee shared, "We must continue offering free COVID 19 testing for underserved communities who need it most regardless of immigration status or occupation and our partnership with Governor Newsom and Kern County has made that possible for Bakersfield and the invaluable farmworkers living there. We are grateful to The Rockefeller Foundation grant that funded the expansion of testing across the State of California.”

Once the center opens for the public it will be a free drive-through testing site. It's located at the Richard Prado Senior Center at 2101 Ridge Road.

“The residents of East Bakersfield are some of the most medically underserved populations in the nation. Many of these individuals are helping keep our vital services operational and I believe they deserve bett er. That is why I fought hard to bring free testing here in our community to test our most at risk populations as a first step in getting our society back open,” said Perez.