HOUSTON – When asked at a news briefing Sunday if the City of Houston had the resources to open an additional testing site, Mayor Sylvester Turner bluntly stated it did not, and added that federal health personnel with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would withdraw from the city by the end of the week.
"They are going to be redirected someplace else outside of the state of Texas, "Turner said. "So, we’re going to have to pick up the greater load here.”
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Currently, there are three HHS employees stationed at each of the city’s COVID-19 testing sites. On Friday April 10, these health workers will leave Houston for assignments elsewhere outside of Texas, Turner said.
“We're looking at how we can be a little bit more robust as far as testing."
The news came amid a rising number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the city.
On Saturday, Houston reported its ninth coronavirus-related death and announced 103 more confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the city’s total number of cases to 690.
Donning a mask, Turned advised Houstonians to wear “face coverings" and continue to practice social distancing.
“That will help regardless of whether testing increases or not,” Turner said.
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