DALLAS COUNTY (1080 KRLD)- There will be a new drive-through COVID-19 testing site in Dallas County today. The testing site at the American Airlines Center is being shut down and the testing site at the Ellis Davis Field House will increase its capacity. The testing site will be at the University of Dallas in Irving.
"In our new site, we'll have a private contractor use a new lab. We'll stay on that lab and drive performance so hopefully we'll get those test results back in two to three days," said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. At the AAC and Ellis Davis Field House it can take up to eight days for patients to get their test results, Jenkins said, because they are using a federal lab in another state.
The private contractor at the University of Dallas testing site is called Honu. "The City of Dallas lead the effort to find that lab," Judge Jenkins said. "The City is paying for half and the County is paying for half".
It will be open only to residents of Dallas County and the City of Dallas. Patients will need to provide some form of address verification such as a utility bill or a library card.
Dallas County is also working to secure direct access to the testing components, which would allow the tests to be performed at Parkland Hospital. "We're staying on the feds to get us the reagent - that's the chemical that runs the test. We could do it ourselves much faster," Judge Jenkins said. "We're trying to get them to give us the raw materials."