NUECES COUNTY, Texas — Nueces County's Public Health District’s only COVID-19 test machine broke down and officials had to figure out how to continue to get hundreds of tests to run while waiting for a technician from San Antonio to make the needed repairs.
”It’s been going for over a year and a half strong and so it broke and we had to get a technician but they came out the next day and fixed it so we’re back up and running," Health Director Annette Rodriguez with the Health District said.
The machine is called the Panther and luckily there was a backup plan available when it went down.
"Actually while it broke, Driscoll Children’s Hospital, they also have a Panther machine in their laboratory, so they ran some of those tests for us," Rodriguez said.
Those tests the Health District is using at its drive-thru clinics are not only the gold standard in testing; they’re expensive as well. It's a cost the district now bears.
"The supplies are no longer being given to us by the state so we’re having to purchase them now so they are very expensive but we continue to purchase them and we continue to test individuals in our community for free," she added.
Whether you are positive or negative, you will be notified through a reverse alert. Now, many people have been trying to get rapid test results from places like CVS and Walgreens only to find out that they’re booked up solid for a week.
That’s led to people now turning to the home testing kits for their COVID answers.
"The home test, what it does is that it does help alleviate some of the stress of testing I guess," Dr. Kim Onufrak with the Health District said. "People can get that instant gratification. It’s not going to be as accurate but it is helpful to know especially if you feel sick.”
Dr. Onufrak warns that if you do have COVID-19 symptoms and the rapid home test gives you a negative result, then you should still stay home. It could be a false negative test. She advises folks not to go to work or to go to school. Quarantine for 14 days.