Unvaccinated city of Houston employees required to get tested for COVID twice a month

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- If you work for the city of Houston, you'll now be required to get tested for COVID-19 twice a month.

During a city council meeting on Wednesday, Mayor Sylvester Turner signed an executive order requiring mandatory COVID testing on a bi-monthly basis for all city employees.

"That is all employees," said Turner during his announcement. "Police, fire, municipal workers ... you must be tested."

The order applies to those who are not fully vaccinated and it lists several exemptions, including religious or certain medical reasons.

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It seems a lot can change in a year of a pandemic, but one thing that remains is COVID testing. And with the delta variant, Texas has seen testing numbers double in the last month.

Turner said employees must submit proof of a negative test on the first day of the month along with the 15th day of the month.

The test result must be submitted to the city of Houston's human resources department.

The order will take effect on Friday, Oct. 8. To view a list of city of Houston testing sites, visit the city's COVID response website.

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The new test works like a pregnancy test. It collects droplets from your breath and changes color depending on your results.