Each day, hundreds of residents of Galveston County, Texas, are tested for the new coronavirus. Free diagnostic tests are being offered to anyone over the age of seven and the county has enough test kits to last a month.
FILE PHOTO: A medical technician takes a sample to test for the coronavirus disease at a drive through testing site in Medford, Massachusetts, U.S., April 4, 2020. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
Galveston’s successes - and frustrations - are emblematic of what counties across the nation will face in trying to expand testing to a level health experts say is needed to safely begin to reopen battered economies without igniting new outbreaks. Another 440 people are being tested daily at the local hospital, the University of Texas Medical Branch-Galveston .
“We put two of our own buyers in the lab to work directly with the lab team to scour the planet for supplies,” Toomes said. “We knew everybody at some point was going to want these materials.” Kathy Barroso, chief executive of the Galveston County Health District, said she siphoned off dozens of staff members from other areas and even put local dentists to work to help with testing and contact tracing. In total, she has about 200 people to test and trace - but more are needed.
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