Tarrant County coronavirus tests expand as southeast Fort Worth site opens this week
As prospective patients arrive by auto in Fort Worth’s medical district, they are handed a tissue and asked to blow their nose. Once their their nasal cavity is clear of mucus, someone wrapped in a gown inserts a swab to collect a sample that will, often four days later, reveal whether the person behind the windshield has joined a pandemic’s toll.
Novel coronavirus testing screened and scheduled by Tarrant County and executed by the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth last week expanded evaluations beyond police officers and healthcare workers to others meeting strict criteria.
Testing locations will grow further this week when, on Tuesday, a site opens in southeast Fort Worth. With its launch, there will be a combined capacity of about 400 tests on five days a week, a Tarrant County spokesman said.
Since April 26, when the Tarrant County government began online test screening, 2,213 people have completed the screening and 698 appointments were booked. Some of those people did not show up to be tested.
Starting in the middle of last week, Tarrant County added appointments to an Arlington testing location via its screening website, covidtesting.tarrantcounty.com.
Whether coronavirus testing has become sufficient in Tarrant County is not clear. Several private providers are offering testing.
“There’s more and more,” said Dr. Mark Chassay, the health science center’s chief clinical and medical officer. It will be important to monitor the number appointments sought this week, he said.
“At this point, it seems like the testing is not getting overwhelmed,” he said of the medical district site.
Texas has ranked near the bottom nationwide in per capita testing, and testing was initially limited at the start of the outbreak. Dallas-Fort Worth residents previously reported being unable to get tested for COVID-19 even when showing symptoms.
The Tarrant County-UNTHSC test analysis and results reporting are handled by Quest Diagnostics labs and often take four days. They are reported to the person who was tested on an app.
The UNTHSC virus testing effort began in mid-March, when it opened a COVID-19 site for Tarrant County-area first responders. The health science center said its testing site was intended to keep at work police officers and medical personnel who tested negative.
The medical district testing site has been staffed by faculty members and students, Chassay said.
Because tests are scheduled by an appointment, the UNTHSC and Tarrant County asked the Star-Telegram not to publish the sites’ addresses.
Tests are free for someone evaluated at the three Tarrant County-screened sites who does not have health insurance. If such a person has health insurance, his or her carrier will be billed.
“As we begin planning for reopening, it is vitally important that we have more testing,” Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley wrote in a statement. “These testing sites are going to be critical in helping us open up the county.”
Director of Public Health Vinny Taneja wrote that the county was pleased to have the resource.
“The platform will not only help our testing facilities operate more effectively, it will also arm us with valuable information to keep our communities safe.”
