Additional Pop-up Testing Sites Bring Daily Capacity to 1,600
On Tuesday, April 28, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced a three-point framework designed to contain the spread of COVID-19 as a phased approach to reopen the economy across Texas begins to ramp up. The framework contains three key components, including increased tracing of positive cases, enhanced testing capacity, and continued efforts to ensure there is enough healthcare capacity to weather a spike in cases.
“If the economy will begin opening May 1st, in order to keep it open, it’s vital we follow a smart containment strategy that ensures our systems are prepared to identify, test, and treat those who are sick,” said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. “Achieving containment that is sustainable will be a tall order given the May 1st timeline, and we cannot afford to erase the gains our community has sacrificed so much to achieve. Harris County will do everything possible to preserve what we have accomplished thus far, and this framework will help us get there.”
The framework, developed with input from public health officials and policy experts, will work to expand the County’s ability to identify, test, and treat residents. It will do so by focusing on enhancing County capacity to identify and isolate new cases by tracing the contacts of infected individuals, testing higher-risk community members, and closely tracking key indicators of disease spread and hospital capacity. The goal is to ensure that COVID-19 cases are contained, and that hospital admissions continue to decline.
As part of the plan, Harris County will immediately begin
recruiting hundreds of new contact tracers to identify and support isolation
efforts. The contact tracers will work to locate everyone in contact with
infected residents and ensure they are tested and/or self-isolating for at
least 14 days. At the same time, Harris County will continue to expand the availability
of testing for anyone who has reason to believe that they may be infected,
including close contacts of individuals who test positive, and other
higher-risk groups.
The three key components of the framework include:
Testing
Harris County will continue to increase testing capacity in coordination with public and private sources to ensure the availability of widespread, affordable, and efficient testing.
As part of this effort, yesterday the County announced a “strike team” to deploy testing to congregate settings like nursing homes along with two additional pop-up testing locations. These testing sites add to the existing two pop-up locations and two fixed testing locations in Katy and in Baytown. Beginning this week, the County will have the ability to test up to 1,600 residents per day, and will continue to advocate for more testing resources.
In order to test all new cases and their contacts with existing resources, it is imperative that the number of new cases remain at below 100 per day.
Tracing
Harris County will exponentially expand its epidemiological workforce, which has already been scaled up from pre-COVID levels. As part of the effort, Harris County will recruit about 300 contact tracers, with the ability to expand as needed. Potential sources of additional workforce include temporary hires, contractors, existing Harris County staff, and volunteers, all of whom will be hired by qualified epidemiologists and other staff.
Treatment
Harris County will continue to work with healthcare providers and other partners to ensure that healthcare capacity is in place as part of planning for another wave of infections. While the curve of hospital admissions has not decreased to the safest level recommended by local healthcare experts, the county will work to maximize resources given the current circumstances.
In addition, Harris County will continue to track the rate of infection and hospitalization to understand the potential progression of COVID-19 and to gauge the possibility of a spike in cases. This information will inform advocacy efforts as well as additional actions the County may take to restrict or loosen public health measures to protect the health and safety of our community. Harris County is working with several research organizations as part of this effort. The goal is to also continue tracking total hospital beds, ICU beds, ventilators, and other metrics to support our planning work.
For additional information visit ReadyHarris.org.
The impact of COVID-19 continues to bring about several changes in the Greater Houston area.
That trend continues, as this past week, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced that, beginning Monday, April 27th, Harris County residents would be required to wear face coverings. Those face coverings can consist of a mask, scarf, bandanna or handkerchief.
Under the county order, all Harris County residents who are 10 years old and up will be required to wear the face covering or mask, which must cover the nose and mouth, for a 30 day period. There will be a few exceptions to the rule, which will consist of a person who is exercising, eating, drinking, or alone in a separate place, or at your own residence.
In addition to the face covering requirement, Judge Hidalgo also announced a three-point framework designed to contain the spread of COVID-19 as a phased approach to re-open the economy across Texas begins to ramp up. The framework contains three key components, including increased tracing of positive cases, enhanced testing capacity, and continued efforts to ensure there is enough healthcare capacity to weather a spike in cases.
“If the economy will begin opening May 1st, in order to keep it open, it’s vital we follow a smart containment strategy that ensures our systems are prepared to identify, test, and treat those who are sick,” said Judge Hidalgo. “Achieving containment that is sustainable will be a tall order given the May 1st timeline, and we cannot afford to erase the gains our community has sacrificed so much to achieve. Harris County will do everything possible to preserve what we have accomplished thus far, and this framework will help us get there.”
The framework, developed with input from public health officials and policy experts, will work to expand the County’s ability to identify, test, and treat residents. It will do so by focusing on enhancing County capacity to identify and isolate new cases by tracing the contacts of infected individuals, testing higher-risk community members, and closely tracking key indicators of disease spread and hospital capacity. The goal is to ensure that COVID-19 cases are contained, and that hospital admissions continue to decline.
As part of the plan, Harris County will immediately begin recruiting hundreds of new contact tracers to identify and support isolation efforts. The contact tracers will work to locate everyone in contact with infected residents and ensure they are tested and/or self-isolating for at least 14 days. At the same time, Harris County will continue to expand the availability of testing for anyone who has reason to believe that they may be infected, including close contacts of individuals who test positive, and other higher-risk groups.
“The goal isn’t just to save lives, but to also go on offense against this virus and quickly isolate it where we know it has the potential to spread quickly,” said Judge Hidalgo. “The more we’re able to do this, the better we’re able to choke off the virus, stop it in its tracks, and move forward.”
The three key components of the framework include:
1) Testing
Harris County will continue to increase testing capacity in coordination with public and private sources to ensure the availability of widespread, affordable, and efficient testing.
As part of this effort, Judge Hidalgo announced the launch of a Harris County COVID-19 Strike Team that will identify high-risk congregate settings and bring testing to them. Additionally, starting this Thursday, April 30th, Harris County plans to double its mobile testing sites from two to four, in addition to the fixed testing sites in Katy and Baytown. Each mobile testing site has the capacity to test 150 per day, with each fixed site capable of handling up to 500, and Harris County will continue to advocate for more testing resources. This brings the total daily testing capacity, not including tests conducted by the strike team, to 1,600 tests.
People living anywhere in the county may choose the site that is most convenient for them. In order to test all new cases and their contacts with existing resources, it is imperative that the number of new cases remain at below 100 per day.
Earlier this week, the team, composed of county epidemiologists, public health experts, social workers, and testing staff, began conducting site assessments, providing recommendations or control orders where needed, and providing the ability to test large groups of residents and staff at locations such as senior centers, nursing homes and shelters.
2) Tracing
Harris County will exponentially expand its epidemiological workforce, which has already been scaled up from pre-COVID levels. As part of the effort, Harris County will recruit about 300 contact tracers, with the ability to expand as needed. Potential sources of additional workforce include temporary hires, contractors, existing Harris County staff, and volunteers, all of whom will be hired by qualified epidemiologists and other staff.
The effort is part of Harris County’s strategy to use aggressive public health interventions to stem the spread of COVID-19. The Strike Team is starting with one nursing home per day, but will expand in capacity in the coming days as additional capacity and staff are added.
3) Treatment
Harris County will continue to work with healthcare providers and other partners to ensure that healthcare capacity is in place as part of planning for another wave of infections. While the curve of hospital admissions has not decreased to the safest level recommended by local healthcare experts, the county will work to maximize resources given the current circumstances.
In addition, Harris County will continue to track the rate of infection and hospitalization to understand the potential progression of COVID-19 and to gauge the possibility of a spike in cases. This information will inform advocacy efforts as well as additional actions the County may take to restrict or loosen public health measures to protect the health and safety of our community. Harris County is working with several research organizations as part of this effort. The goal is to also continue tracking total hospital beds, ICU beds, ventilators, and other metrics to support our planning work.
Testing is available for anyone regardless of citizenship status and is FREE. All individuals seeking a test should complete an online screening tool at readyharris.org or call 832-927-7575. If an individual cannot drive to a site, Harris County’s At-Home Testing Team will call the individual and set up an appointment.
“We know that the easier we make it for folks to get tested, the more will be able and willing to do so,” said Judge Hidalgo. “It’s our job to do what we can to make sure we’re touching every corner of our community.”
For more information on the face covering requirement or to learn about the various COVID-19 testing locations, visit readyharris.org.
For additional information visit ReadyHarris.org.
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