Harris County COVID-19 testing sites seeing surge of patients being tested
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As the number of COVID-19 cases continue to rise, city and county health officials in Harris County say they're seeing a lot of people getting tested. This comes after they've been getting the message out on the importance of testing.
The city and county have been at or near capacity at their sites. In fact, the city of Houston's Delmar site was at capacity by 11 a.m. on Thursday and their other large location was at capacity by 11:30 a.m. They work with many partner agencies, and if you need a test you can give them a call and they can refer you to another site.
If you want to get a test in either the city of Houston or Harris County you can make an appointment by going online or calling. From there you go to the location during your time slot. The tests are free. In Harris County you make an appointment for the next day starting at 2 p.m. In the city of Houston, their call center opens at 7 a.m.
As far as symptoms go, Dr. Peter Hotez with Baylor College of Medicine says there are several things to look for.
"Particularly, if you do have respiratory symptoms but even if you're having heart symptoms, if you're feeling unwell, if you're having fever of course or excessive fatigue you might try to get tested," said Peter Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
Other symptoms include loss of taste and smell.
The Houston Health Department says if their sites are at capacity for the day be sure to give them a call, so they can help connect you with one of their agency partners.
