City of San Antonio
Emergency workers deal with a sample at a drive-through testing unit in a State of Texas-produced video.
Texas Department of State Health Services data released March 26 shows that as of 8 p.m. March 25 there were at least 1,396 coronavirus cases in Texas. That’s a 40% increase from the previous day, in part because the state’s updated reporting system now tracks case counts directly from counties instead of relying on official case forms, which come in later and were causing the state’s official count to lag hundreds behind other tallies.
At least 21,424 Texans have been tested. But, a spokesman for the agency said that number still does not include testing done by all private labs. With the governor’s executive order in place to bolster reporting capabilities, officials anticipate that additional labs will be reporting their numbers soon.
Here’s what we know about getting tested in Texas:
How many tests are available in Texas?
Gov. Greg Abbott said March 16 that he expected the state to be able to test 10,000 people weekly.
Seth Christensen, a spokesman for the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said on March 26 the state had received 15,000 test kits from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and it is expecting another shipment of 15,000 test kits by March 28. Each kit can test one person, he said.
The Trump administration also said that almost 2 million tests would be available to some 2,000 commercial labs across the U.S. by March 21. According to the American Clinical Laboratory Association, its commercial lab members — which include ARUP, BioReference Laboratories, LabCorp, Mayo Clinic Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics, and Sonic Healthcare — reported having conducted a total 405,000 tests as of March 25, including 67,000 completed tests for March 25.
It’s unclear if commercial labs in Texas have received any of the 2 million tests Trump promised for the nation.
Do I qualify?
According to Texas Health and Human Services, it’s up to your doctor to decide if you should be tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus. People who need help finding doctors can call 2-1-1 to find low- or no-cost providers in their area.
But meeting with a doctor and exhibiting some of COVID-19’s common symptoms, like fever, cough and shortness of breath, does not guarantee you’ll be tested at one of the 10 public health labs in Texas.
Even as demand for testing has increased, public and federal labs continue to prioritize testing Texans who meet the following criteria:
- High-risk patients
- Hospital patients with COVID-19 symptoms
- Health care workers who’ve been in close contact with someone who’s tested positive for the new coronavirus
- Patients with recent travel history in areas that have been affected by the disease
Texans can be tested in public health labs, private clinics or hospitals. A doctor can determine if a patient qualifies for a public health lab test by using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Houston and El Paso are some of the cities that recently set up drive-through testing, but access to many of these sites remains limited.
Anyone who doesn’t meet the criteria for state lab testing can seek a private test at a commercial lab — but not everyone can get tested that way either. The Food and Drug Administration is allowing certain hospitals and commercial labs to use their own coronavirus tests as a way to mitigate a shortage of tests from the CDC. But private tests must be ordered by a patient’s doctor or health care provider, and the hospitals and commercial labs can select who gets tested based on their own requirements.
On March 17, Abbott said FEMA would soon conduct testing in Texas, in addition to current testing being done by hospitals, public health authorities and private operators. He did not specify when or where FEMA would conduct these tests.
How much does it cost?
The tests conducted by state labs are free, but that’s not necessarily the case with tests conducted by private labs. On March 10, Abbott asked state-regulated insurance plans to waive the costs of testing for the new coronavirus. Nearly all of them agreed to do this, but uninsured Texans can still be billed for the cost of treatment, such as a hospital visit or physician’s fees.
State officials have encouraged Texans to call 2-1-1 to find nearby free or reduced-cost clinics.
President Trump signed a bill on March 18 that allocates money for free coronavirus testing, expands sick-leave provisions and bolsters funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
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