HISD families, employees line up for free COVID-19 testing

Demand for COVID-19 testing has spiked during the holiday season, and it’s still happening as families are looking forward to students returning to school this week.

Last week, the Houston Department of Health said at least one of its affiliated COVID-19 testing sites was at capacity each day.

According to the Texas Department of Health Services online dashboard, as of December 30, Harris County has the highest number of active COVID-19 cases in the state.

Toni Middleton is an HISD parent who waited in line at one of HISD’s testing sites on Sunday. Middleton said she’s grateful she recognized the early signs and took her family in for a pre-holiday checkup. Her son ended up testing positive for COVID-19 and they spent the holidays in quarantine.

“If other kids get sick, they pass it on to people at home,” Middleton said. “That’s our thing about him getting tested before Christmas. If we ignored the symptoms, it would be like everyone else, my mother would get infected. My nephew, my cousin. , they get infected and that’s how things continue to spread.”

Houston ISD announced on Sunday a test delaying systemwide downtime until 2 p.m. at Worthing Early College High School and Bellaire High School. Parents and HISD staff must register before queuing.

Corina Olguin, an educator, said as a precaution, she wanted to take a COVID-19 test before school started.

“I think only with the news and the numbers are going up,” Olguin. “We’ve had a lot of family members and friends get sick over the last few days, so we’re like a circle that’s getting closer and closer. I think it’s good that the city and county are trying to do one thing. part to make sure we stay safe.”

Katy ISD has also provided free COVID-19 testing to students and staff. The district announced due to an increase in COVID-19 cases, it will open in “Phase 3 ‘Adjustment Operations'” when teachers return on Monday and students return on Tuesday. , this week.

Sites run by the Houston Department of Health will reopen Monday, and Mayor Sylvester Turner announced on Friday the health department plans to open two more major testing sites next week.

For Houston Department of Health’s multi-service testing sites, appointments are prioritized by register online or call 832-393-4220. These are drive-in sites and do not accept walk-in customers.