WACO, TX — Dr. Ben Wilson of the Waco Family Health Center says, in a perfect world, we all should get tested at least once a day.
"In an ideal world, we would have everyone get tested really once a day before they go to work or school and make sure they're negative and really all over all over the world that that would be the case but we don't, unfortunately, have that kind of testing capacity," he explained.
But for the next month, Waco will have 40-thousand free tests available at the convention center, Hispanic chamber, McLennan Community College and the Waco ISD Stadium.
"The more tests we have the better we can identify what is the, 'How big is big, how bad is bad' and that's always important in any disaster or in emergencies first when you look at how big is big, how bad is bad," said Larry Holze with the City of Waco.
When the first Coronavirus surge took place, we learned the virus had started showing up more in Hispanic families.
That’s why the city plans to place special emphasis on getting minorities to turn out for testing. Even though many though complain of discomfort in testing.
"A lot of people avoid the Corona testing because they stick the q tip so far up your nose," said Willie Moore of Waco.
However, the new tests, are far less invasive and much more comfortable, as I found at the Waco ISD Stadium drive through testing center.
They tell me that I should know within three to five days, whether I've been exposed to coronavirus or not. Cross your fingers.
City leaders urge us to take advantage of this rare opportunity.
"We're able to now make it available to anybody, anybody symptoms or anybody asymptomatic, if you want to get a test, it's free. You can get it none. That's why we're saying get tested, get tested. Make it a date night," said Holze with a smile.
Why not, asks Dr. Ben Wilson, because the more information we have, the better we can protect our loved ones.
"It'll be interesting to know how much, really, how much coronavirus we have in our community that do not have symptoms, and it's very difficult to know that without just testing a bunch of folks," he said.
The surge will continue for a month sometimes rotating among the four locations. Many complain they shouldn't have to wait days for a diagnosis on COVID.
As we learned at 5, the Family Health Center of Waco offers test results within minutes or by the end of the day at most.
