CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — With COVID-19 cases on the rise, many people are choosing to take tests to make sure they aren’t positive, or perhaps if they do have symptoms, want to confirm they have COVID-19.
Many people go to testing sites, but with at-home tests available now, many aren’t having to wait in long lines anymore to get their results.
The Biden Administration is making health insurance companies reimburse people that have insurance for buying COVID-19 at-home tests starting next week. He’s also making available free COVID-19 tests that you can request.
However, many people might not report their positive test result to their local health district or Texas’ Department of State Health Services. Luis Wilmot, the assistant director for the Corpus Christi-Nueces County Health District, said reporting your positive test result can help them know the trends of COVID-19 cases in the county. He said you can report it through the city of Corpus Christi’s website.
“If you don’t report that at-home test, we don’t have access to it. It’s got to be reported to somebody, either through us or to the state,” Wilmot said.
He said the state also gives them positive case numbers from other testing sites that are not sponsored by the health district.
“That’s the entire purpose of this testing. We want to slow the spread. We might not be able to stop the spread completely,” he said.
He said the health district is also working with local leaders to identify if any safety measures like masks or the closure of facilities will be needed.
“If we climb to a very dangerous number of 90 percent, then we’re going to give the information to our leaders, both city and county, so they can make a more informed decision on what is best for the community,” he said.
We reached out to DSHS and they didn’t approve our request to do an interview with them about case count numbers, but they gave us this statement instead:
“As has been the case for the entire pandemic, at-home test results – both positive and negative - are not reported in the state’s data. Only labs and health care providers are required to report COVID test results to DSHS. A huge amount of test results are being reported to DSHS right now by labs and health care providers and more than a third of those tests are positive. We are getting enough test results to understand what the current situation is and we are urging everyone to get fully vaccinated and a booster shot when they are eligible. The vaccines continue to provide the best protection from severe illness, hospitalizations and death.”
