Tarrant County lab now capable of coronavirus testing, joining 5 others across Texas
This story has been updated to include new cases of coronavirus reported in the Houston area Thursday and Friday.
Six labs across Texas, including in Fort Worth, are capable of testing for coronavirus, with four more on the way by the end of the month, Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday.
“This new ability to provide testing in the state will shorten the time to get the test results, and will help public health take the appropriate steps,“ Abbott said at a press conference at the Texas Department of State Health Services’ Public Health Lab in Austin.
Dallas County officials said Wednesday its lab was capable of testing for the virus, and Tarrant County Public Health announced Thursday that its lab now has the capability to test for COVID-19 locally, joining labs in Houston, Austin, El Paso and Lubbock that have the capability to do so, Abbott said.
There have been no confirmed cases of the virus in Tarrant County, but local health officials in Harris County announced four confirmed cases Thursday afternoon, and a fifth case on Friday, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The Texas Department of State Health Services’ lab in Austin can perform tests for approximately 26 patients per day, Houston and El Paso’s for about 15, and Dallas and Lubbock’s for about 10, Abbott said.
There are 10 public health labs within the Laboratory Response Network in Texas, and the remaining four in Tyler, San Antonio, Corpus Christi and Harlingen are expected to have COVID-19 testing ability by the end of March, Abbott said.
The tests involve a nasal and oral swab taken from a patient, which is then shipped to the closest public health lab for processing and testing, Abbott said.
Shortly after Thursday’s press conference, Harris County Public Health reported its first two positive cases of coronavirus, with test results confirmed by the CDC. A man and a woman from an unincorporated area of northwest Harris County, outside of Houston, tested positive, and their cases are travel-related, according to a news release. Later that day, two more confirmed cases were announced, with a fifth confirmed Friday, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Wednesday, officials announced a Fort Bend County man tested positive for the new coronavirus — the first case in Texas outside of those who had been repatriated from abroad and quarantined at the Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio.
The man had recently traveled abroad and is being isolated in a hospital, according to a Texas Department of State Health Services news release. His results from a public health lab in Houston will be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to the release.
Abbott declined to share specifics Thursday on where the Fort Bend County patient had traveled from. The Houston Chronicle reported Friday that all six patients in the Houston-area were exposed to the virus while visiting Egypt last month.
Abbott said DSHS is providing assistance to the Fort Bend County Health and Human Services Department, which is looking for the people the patient may have come into contact with since returning to Texas.
“I want you to know that we are not surprised by cases like this,” Abbott said. “We anticipated cases like this arising, and we continue to collaborate with local and federal partners to remain prepared to respond to any future cases of COVID-19.”
Officials stressed that the travel-related case doesn’t indicate that there is community spread in Texas — cases where people who have been infected do not know how or where they were exposed — and that the risk to Texans remains low.
“Even though this is a novel virus, it’s a virus like other viruses, and the kind of things we’re asking people to do work against every single germ there is, including the novel coronavirus,” DSHS Commissioner John Hellerstedt said.
If people are experiencing symptoms, they should contact their local health provider, officials said.
“As good as it is, testing is a very precious resource and we want to make sure that we’re testing folks in a way that is going to best serve to protect the public’s access,” Hellerstedt said.
Congress authorized roughly $8 billion in emergency funding to combat the virus’ spread, and Abbott said he anticipates the money will increase the state’s testing capabilities, and help address gaps for people who do not have health insurance.
Texas officials had clashed with the CDC earlier in the week, demanding stricter testing protocols after a quarantined patient tested positive following her release from a San Antonio health facility.
In a letter in response, CDC Director Robert Redfield said that quarantined individuals who have shown symptoms will only be released if they undergo “two sequential negative tests within 24 hours” and no person will be released while test results are pending.
State and local officials had requested that the more than 120 evacuees from the Diamond Princess cruise ship who had finished the 14-day quarantine period be held longer. They were set to be released Monday.
After the CDC’s modified protocols, the evacuees were released.
What should you do to prevent exposure?
Coronavirus symptoms can include fever, cough and shortness of breath, and it’s believed to mainly spread between people in close contact with one another or when an infected person coughs or sneezes nearby, according to the CDC.
Health officials have stressed that they still have more to learn about the emerging disease, for which there is currently no vaccine. Here are steps the CDC recommends people take to prevent exposure and illness:
- Avoid close contact with people who are sick, and stay home if you are sick.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, and clean and disinfect surfaces.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- If showing symptoms, wear a facemask to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. A mask is not recommended for people who are well.
This story was originally published March 5, 2020 at 3:29 PM.
