AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hurricane Laura brought a flood of evacuees taking shelter in Austin, but city health officials said they have not seen a surge in requests for COVID-19 tests.
“The number of patients signing up has remained steady,” a spokesperson for Austin Public Health told KXAN.
Despite concerns about how the city of Austin would balance the needs of evacuees with efforts to prevent a spike in coronavirus cases, APH said they are capable of testing anyone who needs to be tested at their public testing sites. They encouraged anyone with symptoms to sign up for a test here, adding the current turn-around time for results was still two to three days.
Last week, they reported a decrease in the number of people getting tested for COVID-19 at their sites, and a spokesperson indicated the influx of people from the Gulf Coast had not put any additional stress on the testing infrastructure.
They are also offering on-site testing at hotels where evacuees are staying, through the same in-home testing initiative offered to vulnerable Austin residents.
APH was not able to provide any data on how many tests had been requested or administered, but said they were checking people’s temperatures and monitoring symptoms for any evacuees who arrived at the Circuit of the Americas intake area, before they left for a hotel.
Dr. Mark Escott with Austin Public Health addressed concerns about the virus spreading in a Wednesday morning press conference.
“We have Texans that are in need,” said Escott. “I’m much more concerned with backyard barbecues and sorority gatherings than evacuees.”
He said evacuees who test positive will be housed in the city’s isolation facility, along with those who have not tested positive but are experiencing symptoms of the virus.
A spokesperson for APH told KXAN no evacuees have been sent to the isolation facility, so far.
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