Officials to announce community-wide COVID-19 testing starting today

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Officials with Harris County and the City of Houston plan to announce community-wide coronavirus testing, which will begin Monday.

They'll release more details on the testing and the response to containing the spread of COVID-19 at 9:30 a.m.

Over the weekend, testing continued at Butler Stadium at 13755 S. Main St.

The stadium opened as the first non-private testing site in Houston on Friday, with first responders and healthcare providers getting first priority.

If you have symptoms and you want a test, you'll need to first call the Houston Health Department at 832-393-4220 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The city will open more sites and test more people as more supplies are delivered.

"We are taking deliberate steps to protect the public and save lives," said Turner. "That is what this is all about."

Many people continue to wonder if they can get tested to make sure they don't have the virus, but the answer is no.

Once testing sites are open to the public, there will be a specific protocol.

There will be a specific website to visit with a series of questions that need answered.

People will then be connected to a nurse and if authorized, one can head over to a testing site.

"These sites are only for high risk groups with symptoms that have been through a screened process, and people who show up, who haven't been properly screened will not be tested," said Turner.

In Thursday's news conference, the mayor also addressed millennials, saying they are not taking social distancing seriously after seeing images of spring break.

Turner wants the younger generation to be aware that if infected, not only do you get sick, but you're also putting others you love at risk.

"We're all in this together and we'll come through it much quicker," said Turner. "If we work with one another together."

On Thursday, free drive-thru coronavirus testing began at United Memorial Medical Center at 510 West Tidwell.

Legacy Community Health said it has opened satellite clinics to test for coronavirus.

Legacy said they will only test those who screen positive, which means people who are experiencing symptoms and have either traveled (domestic or international) recently or had contact with someone diagnosed with or suspected of having the virus.

The City of Katy posted on Facebook that it is working with Harris County Public Health, the City of Houston and the federal government on the drive-thru testing site being set up at Katy ISD's Legacy Stadium.

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