Operations began Saturday at Austin and Travis County’s first COVID-19 testing site.
The referral-only location, focused on gathering city and countywide tests, prioritizes testing for individuals who have a referral and an appointment, according to a city news release. Those without a referral will be given information on how they can go through the proper channels to qualify for testing.
The first city-county testing site opened as the number of known coronavirus cases in Travis County rose to 62 Saturday, health officials said.
Elsewhere in Central Texas, health officials said Saturday that the numbers in their counties also climbed: in Williamson County, a woman in her 20s became the ninth person to be diagnosed; in Bastrop County, a 37-year-old man became the first with a presumptively positive test; and in Comal County, a third positive case was confirmed.
Also Saturday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced he has waived several regulations to help meet the state’s growing need for nurses as Texas responds to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Austin site is one of 11 testing locations in a partnership involving Austin Public Health, St. David’s, Ascension Seton, UT Health Austin and Baylor Scott & White.
“We have to prioritize those who are at higher risk, hospitalized, our health care workers, first responders, and those who work in critical infrastructure to ensure that they have access because it’s important for the public health and safety of our City,” Dr. Mark Escott, interim health authority for Austin-Travis County, said in the news release.
Priority for testing at the sites will be given to people with a specific combination of symptoms, along with risk factors such as travel, close contact with confirmed cases or underlying health conditions, the release said.
Ana Urueta, public health emergency preparedness planner at Austin Public Health, said the limited community testing site provides people an opportunity to be tested without exposing others.
“This provides us a way to be able to screen people to see if you really should be tested and also allows an opportunity for people to not have to go to the hospital or to other sites,” she said. “It’s a lot safer since they stay in their car the whole time.”
Urueta said referred patients can drive up to the site and be tested by having a swab inserted into one of their nostrils.
“It’s a quick process and a bit uncomfortable, but it’s over really fast,” Urueta said.
Patients who are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, should avoid the risk of spread at clinics and hospitals by using telehealth virtual visits or calling their health provider, the release said.
“All providers were provided a link so if somebody comes into the doctor’s office and they explain that they might have COVID-19 symptoms, they would get checked in via this page that we created,” said Phillip Bauys, public health IT systems manager at Austin Public Health. “The provider checks them in and it goes to a registry where our epidemiologists will review it and see if they need testing.”
Physicians will determine if there is another diagnosis with similar symptoms. Those without insurance or a provider should call CommUnityCare at 512-978-8775.
Doctors will refer suspected COVID-19 cases to Austin Public Health, which will determine whether a test is needed.
Austin Public Health has received approximately 1,000 COVID-19 test kits from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the release said. However, the release said there is still a significant gap between the number of tests available and the number of people seeking a test.
CORONAVIRUS IN TEXAS: What we know, latest updates
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