HOUSTON – The Houston Health Department is being bombarded by calls about coronavirus testing one day after Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that testing would be open to everyone.
The HHD phone lines opened at 9 a.m., and just two hours later, the agency said it had already given out more than 300 unique ID codes for people to get tested.
Recommended Videos
In a tweet, the HHD said it was adding operators and lines to the call centers.
Turner also shared a tweet saying the system was overwhelmed and for people to please be patient.
In just two hours, we've already provided more than 300 unique ID codes for people to be tested for #COVID19 at our community based testing sites. We're adding more operators and lines to our call center. Thank you for your response and patience. https://t.co/lvhtlizSmW
— Houston Health Dept (@HoustonHealth) April 14, 2020
During his daily update Monday, Turner announced that Houston’s two public testing sites had doubled the capacity and could now test 500 people at each location.
Turner also announced that testing would be opened up to anyone who wanted it, not just people who were showing symptoms.
People can call 832-393-4220 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. to receive a unique identification code and instructions on where to go for testing and how to obtain their test results.
More coronavirus coverage
• Find cases by zip code: Harris County heat map shows coronavirus cases by ZIP code
• Cases by county: A breakdown of how many coronavirus cases there are by county in the Houston area
• Answering your questions: We’ve got answers to dozens and dozens of your health and financial coronavirus questions
• Haley’s Health Inbox: KPRC 2 reporter Haley Hernandez answers questions readers are sending her every day
• Coronavirus charts: Who is getting coronavirus in the Houston area? We’ve crunched the data in these charts
• Follow the curve: This chart shows you the curve for Houston cases since March 15
• When it will peak: This is when each state is expected to peak in deaths from coronavirus
• Interactive map: This is what the coronavirus spread looks like right now across the world right now
• Support Local: Find all the ways you can help local businesses in Houston
• Get newsletters: Sign up for a daily newsletter on coronavirus news and Haley Hernandez’s health inbox newsletter