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Some worried Houston area does not have enough testing sites to meet demand
FOX 26 Reporter Ivory Hecker spoke with Houston area residents who struggled to find places to get tested for COVID-19.
HOUSTON - Long lines for COVID-19 testing as patients wait for hours
The number of coronavirus COVID-19 cases continues to rise in the Houston area, keeping the demand for testing strong.
People waited up to seven hours outside in the Texas heat Friday to find out whether they have coronavirus COVID-19 at the Signature Care Emergency Center on Wirt Road.
“I got up at four in the morning to come wait in line to get a wrist band,” said William Ruez.
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A line of patients wrapped around the building throughout the day.
“Obviously there’s a large line, and those are for our walk-ins,” said Jordan Long, an RN at the clinic.
Those who got wrist bands were able to set appointments, but even with an appointment, Ruez said he still waited three hours after arriving at his appointment to get his test.
It’s one of the few locations that offer same-day results. Once the clinic began offering same-day test results three weeks ago, the daily patient volume increased from 20-people-per-day to 250-people-per-day said Long.
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“It’s a 15-minute test,” said Long. “It’s the only one in Houston doing it right now.”
As for Ruez, his results came back negative.
“They were negative, but that’s still potentially a positive because it’s a 20 percent chance that the negative is a positive,” said Ruez.
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“It’s 80 percent accuracy, and we are telling people if they show signs of it and test negative to still kind of self-quarantine and stay away until they can get an actual negative test,” said Long.
Many people in line told FOX 26 they went to Signature Care Emergency Center after having no luck with testing at other locations, including CVS, Walgreens and county test sites.
While some had symptoms, others said they are getting tested just in case.
“I was working out with a buddy on Monday, and yesterday he told me he tested positive for COVID-19, so I wanted to make sure that I didn’t also have the virus,” said Ruez.
Long said about 20 percent of those tested at his clinic come back positive for coronavirus.