Federal Funding Extended For Dallas Drive-Thru Coronavirus Testing Sites
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Federal funding for two large COVID-19 testing sites in Dallas will be extended past the June 30 cutoff date, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Friday.
Leaders from county officials to U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz have been calling for an extension for the seven community-based testing sites in Texas, which were expected to lose federal funding at the end of June.
Two of these testing sites are in Dallas at the American Airlines Center and the Ellis Davis Field House and are able to provide hundreds of tests per day.
On Friday, Abbott said the state was granted its request for an extension. It is currently not known how long the extension will last.
"The State of Texas remains unwavering in our efforts to secure access to testing in communities across the state," Abbott said. "These federally-supported testing sites are a vital component of this commitment. I thank our federal partners for extending these operations in Texas, and for their flexibility in allocating their resources to the communities of Dallas and Houston that are experiencing a high number of COVID-19 cases right now."
Texas has seen a surge in new COVID-19 cases recently, with daily records being broken consistently this week.
Dallas County is expected to announce nearly 500 new cases on Friday, according to Judge Clay Jenkins, which would be a new daily record.
Earlier this week, Abbott told CBS 11 News that the state was working on a different, "superior" strategy that would replace these testing sites. It's not known if that new strategy is still being put into place.
