Sunday Xtra: Long Covid testing lines
EL PASO, Texas -- An issue facing many borderland residents: getting tested after the holidays. This is not the first time you or your neighbors have faced this issue. We first saw long lines for Covid testing in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. Back then, wait times were anywhere from three to five hours.
The city and county eventually teamed up to create mega-testing sites at the county coliseum, at El Paso community college campuses and at the Socorro Activities Complex in Socorro. Hundreds are heading to covid testing sites only to wait in long lines once again.
What's changed is the city of El Paso working alone, without the county. What's also different is there are alternatives for people who don't want to wait and can get tested within a matter of minutes. ABC-7's Xtra host, Saul Saenz, asked emergency management director and fire chief Mario D'Agostino if the city anticipated a spike in testing and made any preparations for that surge. D'Agostino says they did, but Covid affected any preparations they could make.
"What happened in this point in time is that covid actually affected the staff and it really did take a toll. and so when you got 20 percent of our mega site staffing out, I mean the providers also telling us that a large number of staffing are out at the labs as well, you're gonna see those delays," said D'Agostino.
Also joining Saul is County Judge Ricardo Samaniego and RevIVe Covid Testing Director Carlos Alarcon. County Judge Samaniego tells Saul the County Coliseum is available to help with the testing.
RevIVe's Alarcon says they can reduce wait times as well as speed up the time it takes for El Pasoans to get results back.
What's also changed are the city's quarantine and isolation guidelines, which are now aligned with the CDC''s recommendations. Everyone who is presumed or confirmed Covid-19 should stay at home and isolate for at least five full days. You can end isolation after five full days or if you are fever-free for 24 hours.
If you have access to a test and want to test, use a rapid antigen test towards the end of the five-day isolation period. If you have a fever or continued symptoms after five days, wait until the end of the isolation period or fever-free for 24 hours. Do not travel during the five-day isolation period. Watch ABC-7 Xtra Sunday edition after ABC-7 weekend at 10:35 pm.
