Coronavirus testing has plunged in Texas, mirroring nationwide trends, even as the U.S. surpasses 5 million confirmed cases.
Coronavirus: After weeks of backlogs, it’s getting easier to obtain a coronavirus test in California. The trend worries health experts who fear that Texas risks flying blind into the fall if it doesn’t increase testing.
Texas embarked on one of the fastest reopenings in the U.S. in May but retreated weeks later in the face of massive outbreaks, ultimately leading Abbott to impose a statewide mask order after previously saying he wouldn’t.was airlifting COVID-19 patients hundreds of miles north in search of open beds, and Houston this month began threatening $250 fines for not wearing face coverings in an effort to drive down infection numbers.In recent weeks, things have improved, including a nearly 40% drop in hospitalizations since July’s peak. But deaths remain high, and doctors in some parts still say they’re still stretched. Texas is averaging more than 210 reported new deaths a day over the past two weeks, according to The COVID Tracking Project. On Friday, it reported 313 deaths. Overall, the state has recorded more than 9,600 fatalities. The rolling average of people who test positive for the virus in Texas is stubbornly elevated at 16% — a figure that itself could be a sign of insufficient testing. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said a positivity rate under 10% is an indicator that a state has robust testing. Abbott has said that unless Texas gets below that number, bars are likely to stay shut. Other states in the South clobbered by the virus this summer are also seeing improvements, including Alabama. Intensive care units remain frustratingly full there, but the average of new confirmed cases each day has dropped below 1,000, from 1,800 in mid-July. It’s not clear why testing has fallen off, even as many areas of the country are still experiencing serious outbreaks. Health experts suspect some Americans, jaded by images of long testing lines and the possibility of results taking a week or longer, are deciding not to bother unless they’re ill. Others have suggested that mixed messages about the disease — like President Trump’s recent“The good answer would be because we have less COVID, fewer people have symptoms. A bad answer might be that people gave up because it’s taking a long time,” said Dr. Junda Woo, medical director for San Antonio Metro Health. “We have the data, but we don’t have a lot of the answers behind the data.” Some cities in Texas are now offering tests to virtually anyone after months of restricting limited supplies to only those with symptoms, and Abbott has said the state is working on rapid virus testing for nursing homes and schools. Some students are already back in classrooms, and in football-obsessed Texas, which has by far the most high school football players in the nation with about 170,000, practices are underway.
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