AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Rising testing demand and rising temperatures are affecting the operating hours at CommUnityCare's COVID-19 testing sites across Travis County.
New hours will be from 6:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. The Hancock, Pflugerville, and William Cannon testing sites began the new schedule today, while the Colony Park, Hornsby Bend, Manor, and Del Valle locations will shift to the new hours on June 29.
"By shifting testing hours, we can maintain current testing levels and keep staff safer as they work outside in the heat of summer in full protective gear for hours at a time," CommUnityCare CEO Jaeson Fournier said in a statement. "The situation is constantly evolving, so we are staying flexible and adapting our efforts to ensure the safety of our staff while maintaining access to COVID-19 testing now and for the foreseeable future."
Officials are seeing a sharp uptick in demand for testing, anticipating a record-high 3,000 tests this week at the seven sites across Travis County, which are either on or east of Interstate 35.
Last week, oficials said CommUnityCare sites tested 2,433 people. Out of those tests, about one in three Latinos (32.76%) are testing positive, compared to an average of 25 percent for all races and ethnicities. Positivity rates for African Americans are also increasing, from 8.2% to 11.11%.
So far, CommUnityCare has performed more than 13,100 tests since the pandemic began, with 63% of those provided to Latinos.
"With support and guidance from the community and our partners, we are ramping up our efforts to reach people and neighborhoods that are being disproportionately affected by COVID-19," said Mike Geeslin, President and CEO of Central Health. "From outreach to local businesses, public service announcements on the radio and online, to picking up the phone and calling our MAP (Medical Access Program) members directly, we are doing everything we can to make sure the people we serve – people with low income and without insurance – know where and how to get tested. If they test positive, we must ensure they know how to get appropriate care and health coverage."
CommUnityCare says it's working to expand its operations into the evening hours and is working with Austin Public Health to add more testing locations in historically underserved areas and ZIP codes with high positivity rates - continuing to focus on serving its insured and uninsured patients, and for those without health insurance that do not have an established doctor.
"Our primary focus continues to be providing access to COVID-19 testing for our patients and for community members that have no other testing options – specifically those without a doctor and those without insurance," said Fournier. "We appreciate that people across Central Texas see CommUnityCare as a trusted resource during this time of uncertainty, but our testing sites are intended for those who have nowhere else to go."
The full schedule of testing locations and hours is available online at www.communitycaretx.org/coronavirus-updates.
People with questions about testing should call the CommUnityCare COVID-19 Hotline at 512-978-8775.