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COVID-19 testing down in Fort Bend County
Officials in Fort Bend County are reporting a decrease in testing. FOX 26's Ivory Hecker has more.
FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas - There has been a dramatic decrease in COVID-19 testing in Fort Bend County, according to the local health authority there. This follows fewer people testing for the virus in Houston as well.
Sixty-percent fewer people are getting tested for coronavirus COVID-19 compared to five weeks ago, according to Fort Bend County Health & Human Services.
The county is reporting the dramatic drop in COVID-19 testing despite free testing being available at sites across the county. The 60 percent drop in testing since mid-July is similar to the drop in testing that the City of Houston reported, when daily tests administered fell from about 650 per day in July to about 200 per day in August.
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“I think we’re all a little bit fatigued by COVID at this point, but we really can’t afford to let our guard down,” said Joseph Petrosino, Ph.D., Chairman of the Baylor College of Medicine Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology.
With the virus still impacting people of all ages, Petrosino says some of the decline in testing could be due to new guidance from the CDC that says once you have caught the virus and go back to being asymptomatic, you don’t have to take a follow-up test.
“Ten days after that diagnosis or ten days after that test you wait, and then the first 24-hours that you do not have symptoms, after that you can return to work,” said Petrosino. “So ten days plus 24-hours without symptoms, and you can return to work without a test.”
Fort Bend County data shows so far more than 55,000 COVID-19 tests have been administered, and 13,000 of those tests came back positive.
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“Another indication of having less tests being performed is that fewer people have symptoms, and if that’s the case, then that’s a good sign and a good trend for the region,” said Petrosino.
With the school year starting up, Petrosino says testing for COVID-19 will continue to be very important.
“Especially with people attending classes at this time, I think that poses a very serious threat.”
Petrosino says right now researchers at Yale are working on a cost-effective saliva test for COVID-19 that would make regular testing of those who go to school in person a feasible option.