Coronavirus testing in Fort Worth is now open to more people. Should you get screened?
More Fort Worth residents can qualify for free coronavirus testing now as the city and Tarrant County expand criteria at public screening sites.
Testing standards originally focused on health care workers, first responders and those who were severely symptomatic. Public health officials later expanded the criteria to include essential government workers as well as anyone with a doctor’s order or who had been in contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus, regardless of symptoms.
As the number of people seeking a test has declined and the capacity to test has increased, public testing sites in Fort Worth and Arlington have broadened restrictions on who can qualify for a free test.
Now, regardless of symptoms, retail workers can get tested. Those over 65 and adults with pre-existing conditions, such as heart disease or diabetes, can also get a free test without symptoms. There is one caveat: the public test sites are open only to those over 18, so children should be taken to a private testing site.
That means grocery store, drug store and other workers frequently exposed to the general public may qualify for a test.
This is one step closer to being able to test everyone in the county, Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja said, but more strides in testing availability will need to be made first.
“We’ve gotten it so loose that the next step is basically opening it up to everyone,” he said. “But then you’ll have more than 2 million people who can get a test … that’s a big undertaking. For now there has to still be some methodology and screening applied.”
Taneja said the focus remains on older folks and those with health conditions because the COVID-19 disease has been most severe in those patients. Though seniors make up between 16% and 17% of positive cases, they account for the “great majority” of deaths, he said.
The county has the capacity to test on average 475 people a day. Appointments and initial screening can be made through Tarrant County’s online COVID-19 registration or by phone at 817-248-6299. Patients will be given the next available appointment option at any of the sites.
Though there was discussion about testing restrictions at Tuesday’s Tarrant County Commissioners Court meeting, the broaden requirements were not widely publicized. Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price briefly mentioned new testing criteria Wednesday during an online briefing.
“Our testing sites in the city are not being utilized to full capacity,” Price said adding that there would be options for “asymptomatic people who are serving the public.”
In Fort Worth, the county operates two test sites in partnership with the city, one in the medical district and one in east Fort Worth. Arlington has one public test site, which starting next week will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
More than 3,100 people had qualified for a test through Tarrant County and made an appointment, according to county data. Nearly 2,000 met the criteria for a COVID-19 test, but didn’t make an appointment as of Thursday afternoon.
Dozens of private testing sites are also open across the county.
CVS Health will open 44 test sites across Texas where residents will have the option to use self-swab tests, and the company plans to have over 80 locations throughout the state by the end of May, according to a news release. Individuals who meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria in addition to age guidelines will qualify for testing. A doctor’s referral is not required, according to CVS Health.
