Drive-thru testing sites are available to the public and UTRGV students, faculty and staff on both the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses.
According to a UTRGV press release, the School of Medicine, UT Health RGV, the Office of Congressman Vicente Gonzalez, Hidalgo and Cameron County leaders and the City of Brownsville collaborated for this service to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The drive-thru on the Brownsville campus will operate from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. near Vaquero Plaza and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Edinburg campus north of the Health Affairs Building West.
John Krouse, UTRGV School of Medicine dean and vice president for Health Affairs, said the sites provide drive-thru testing for anyone in the Rio Grande Valley who is symptomatic and feels they need to be tested for COVID-19.
“It’s important to know that we are only testing people who are symptomatic for COVID-19,” Krouse said. “So, what they need to do is call our number, our patient care number which is 1-833-UTRGVMD and they will be screened on the phone by one of our attendants. And if they have positive symptoms, they will be given an appointment time for one of the two locations based upon which one they’d like to go to.”
There is no cost for anyone to get tested. He said all people need to bring is an ID.
Krouse said the School of Medicine has been getting a high demand for the drive-thru testing.
“We’ve had well over 500 calls, so far, since opening the phones on Saturday,” he said.
The test is performed with a thin swab that is placed inside the nose throughout some of the cell and tissue.
“That’s processed through what’s called PCR [polymerase chain reaction testing], which is a way of amplifying the RNA and measuring that RNA,” Krouse said. “We’re actually doing those tests here in one of our biology laboratories in Edinburg.”
He said to successfully navigate and make it through, it is important to follow the directives of county officials.
“Stay home, avoid unnecessary travel, wash your hands, we all need to be aware and continue to do that,” Krouse said.
Associate Vice President for University Marketing and Communications, Patrick Gonzales, said the drive-thru testing is a great service not only for our campus community but for the RGV community.
“It was very important for this region to get a school of medicine several years ago, and this is just a reason why,” Gonzales said. “School of Medicine are supposed to be community help partners. And so, throughout this formation of the School of Medicine and the formation of UT Health RGV, the mission has been to bring health care to the RGV community, especially those who have been underserved in the past.”
For more information and updates on COVID-19 visit, UTRGV.edu/Coronavirus.
