Metro Health Adds COVID-19 Screening Sites at ACD

Metro Health announced new, no-cost COVID-19 test sites at the Alamo Colleges District Support Operations Building and St. Philip’s College. Metro Health encourages individuals to get tested if they have symptoms of the coronavirus. The new test sites were contracted by the City of San Antonio to reduce wait times and add capacity in the region.

“Because of the increased demand for people seeking to get a COVID-19 test, we know we need to do more – and we are,” Mayor Ron Nirenberg said. “Today, we are pleased to announce that we have contracted with the nonprofit organization, Community Labs, to offer new testing sites that will be in operation immediately. With these added sites, we now have the capacity to test many more people per day.”

Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said the Omicron variant is driving up hospitalizations and urges the community to do what they can to help ease the stress on hospitals.

“This burden on hospitals is affecting doctors, nurses, and other key medical staff, who are also getting sick and are having to miss work, unable to care for patients in our hospitals,” Judge Wolff said. “If you haven’t already, get vaccinated”.

The test sites are operated by Community Labs and will be offered at the following locations and hours. No appointment is necessary. Testing is done on a walk-up basis only. Results will be provided within 24 hours.

• Alamo Colleges District Support Operations Building, 2222 N. Alamo St., 78215

• Opens Thursday, January 6 at 8 a.m.
• Hours of operation Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  
  

“We want to ensure that residents continue to have access to no cost testing, especially as the highly contagious Omicron variant has become prevalent throughout the community,” Metro Heath Director Claude A. Jacob said. “We encourage anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19 to get tested, so they don’t spread the virus to others if they are positive. We hope these additional testing sites will help meet and alleviate current demand. Remember that we have the tools we need to contain this virus. Please mask up, get vaccinated and get your booster shot if you’re eligible. Please do your part to protect San Antonio by staying home if you are sick.”

“As we all face the challenges of the current Omicron surge, Community Labs is glad our nonprofit organization can assist Metro Health expand access to free COVID-19 testing,” said Sal Webber, president of Community Labs. “From October 2020 to June of 2021, we provided more than 135,000 PCR tests at multiple City of San Antonio locations. Since then, we’ve increased our lab capacity and streamlined our processes, which allows us to add new public sites to the ongoing testing we do at more than 300 area school campuses each week.”  

“The Alamo Colleges District is committed to doing all that we can to keep our community safe as we face this surge,” said Dr. Mike Flores, Alamo Colleges District Chancellor. “We are pleased to be able to offer our Alamo Colleges District support operations office and two of our conveniently located college campuses for anyone needing no-cost COVID-19 testing.”

As a reminder, Metro Health stresses the importance of testing and what to do when you get tested.

• Consider using a self-test before joining indoor gatherings with others who are not in your household.
  
  
• A positive self-test result means that you have an infection and should avoid indoor gatherings to reduce the risk of spreading disease to someone else.
  
  
• A negative self-test result means that you may not have an infection. Repeating the test with at least 24 hours between tests will increase the confidence that you are not infected.
  
  
• Ask your healthcare provider if you need help interpreting your test results.

“We’re continuing keeping a close eye on the COVID-19 situation and will continue to add resources as needed to contain the pandemic,” said City Manager Erik Walsh. “I’d like to thank Metro Health, San Antonio Fire Department, Curative and Community Labs for adding testing capacity and for continuing to help keep our residents safe throughout this pandemic.”

The City also operates 17 test sites through Curative. The hours and locations are listed below. You must register in advance to be tested at a Curative site.

Community Labs provides weekly PCR testing at more than 300 school campuses, representing 11 Bexar County school districts plus Laredo and San Marcos ISDs. Community Labs only utilizes PCR tests – the FDA gold standard – which detect all known variants and utilizes a self-administered lower nasal swab. Community Labs public testing locations will be walk-up only; no advance registration is required. Results will be returned within 24 hours.

For a complete list of testing sites and vaccine pop-up clinics, visit covid19.sanantonio.gov or call 311 and select option 8. Also, Metro Health’s Alamodome Drive-Thru Clinic is open from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday. H-E-B vaccination incentive gift cards are still available.