SAN ANTONIO — Metro Health announced three new COVID-19 testing sites. The hope is to reduce wait times and give people another option for testing.
The Alamo Colleges District Support Operations Building is just one of those locations opening over the next few days thanks to the help of Community Labs, which is working with the City. People started lining up at 6:45 this morning. By about 9:00 a.m. the line was significantly shorter, but no matter how much time it takes, officials say it is well worth the wait.
"Our primary mission is to help keep schools open," Sal Webber, Community Labs President told us. "And so during the week, we tested over three over 300 campuses across the city. And so we're we're augmenting the testing plan that the city already has in place."
"People on this line right here, it's it's taking about 45 seconds once they get inside the door. It's moving pretty quickly," Erik Walsh from the City Manager's Office added. "Tomorrow, at Palo Alto probably also we'll have a much larger operation with Community Labs."
The three Community Labs testing sites include the Alamo Colleges Operations Building at 2222 N. Alamo Street which is already open. Palo Alto College Building 23 at 1400 Villaret Blvd. which opens Friday. And St. Philip's College at 1801 Martin Luther King Dr. which opens next Monday. All locations will be open for testing from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.
These testing locations are desperately needed as coronavirus cases continue to skyrocket across the City.
"We know this is all because of the omicron variant, and that is why our risk level has shot up from 2 percent, to the positivity rate of 27.3 percent in our community," Mayor Ron NIrenberg said,
Then there's the issue of fake testing sites popping up all around Texas and even San Antonio too.
"In some cases their main interest is in your personal information, your date of birth, your medical insurance," Dr. Junda Woo, the Metro Health Medical Director told us. "It's one of many frustrations of the pandemic, but it's really taking advantage of the people who are the most. It is concerning that somebody might have the impression that they're negative and then transmit the virus."
To find a legitimate and free COVID-19 vaccine pop-up clinic or testing location just go to covid19.sanantonio.gov or call 311 and select option 8.