Special to The Dallas Examiner
The City of Dallas and Dallas County have finalized a contract with a vendor, Honu, that will make it possible to continue drive-thru COVID-19 testing past June. The American Airlines Center testing site will close after June 30. The Ellis Davis Field House location will continue federally supported testing through mid-July and will transition to vendor operations once the federal support ends. A new testing site at the University of Dallas in Irving will open July 1.
“We are moving the AAC drive-thru site to the University of Dallas on Wednesday. Dallas County Health and Human Services will supervise a private vendor with a new lab so the turnaround for results should be faster. Faster results give you the chance to make the best decisions for your health and gives our public health experts more timely information to better advise the community,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
The Ellis Davis Field House site will remain a regional site with no geographic boundaries for those being tested while it remains under federal support. The testing site at the University of Dallas will only be open to city of Dallas and Dallas County residents. Address verification, such as a utility bill or library card is required.
“COVID-19 has been spreading rapidly in our community, and testing is a critical part of our response efforts,” Mayor Eric Johnson said. “This contract and transition plan will ensure that our residents continue to have access to testing. In addition, I also urge our residents to help stop this outbreak by taking hygiene seriously, practicing social distancing and wearing masks when coming into contact with others.”
Testing hours and criteria will remain the same. Both locations will be open Monday to Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day.
Locations:
Ellis Davis Field House
9191 S. Polk St.
Dallas, TX 75232
University of Dallas
1845 E. Northgate Dr., Lot B
Irving, TX 75062
Criteria for the testing sites are one of the following:
- Persons with symptoms of potential COVID-19 infection, including: fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, new loss of taste or smell, vomiting or diarrhea, and/or sore throat.
- Anyone 65-years-old or older.
- Anyone with chronic health issues (diabetes, asthma, heart issues, etc.).
- Any first responders, DART drivers, health care workers, grocery store and essential retail store workers.
- Persons without symptoms who have been actively engaged in large group settings, such as public gatherings or congregations of people.
At home mobile testing and neighborhood walk-up testing sites are also available for city of Dallas and Dallas County residents. To view additional testing locations visit www.dallascityhall.com/covid19 or https://www.dallascounty.org/covid-19/testing-locations.php.