2 COVID-19 surge testing sites opening up in Harris County Thursday

New testing operations will increase capacity at HCPH and get results faster

HOUSTON – Surge testing begins in Harris County Thursday and two locations are transitioning to free surge testing sites.

Ken Pridgeon Stadium and San Jacinto College Central Campus locations will transition to surge testing sites, aiming to increase testing capacity and faster lab turnaround times, officials said.

Officials said the temporary transition, lasting roughly two weeks or until 30,000 testing samples are reached, will take place at both stationary sites starting Thursday and operational hours will be Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. In addition to these hours, starting Aug.4, officials introduced evening testing at the stationary locations every Tuesday (Pridgeon) and Thursday (San Jacinto) from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. to better support the community.

With the additional resources and new process, officials said testing capacity at each location will increase from 750 tests per day to 1,250 and residents should receive their results in three to five business days.

What is surge testing?

Surge testing provides additional temporary federal support to areas around the county that have seen a recent spike in coronavirus cases.

“Surge testing in Harris County marks an important milestone in our efforts to mitigate COVID-19 locally and we are grateful to our federal and state partners for this opportunity,” said Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, HCPH Executive Director. “It is vital that our residents have access to free testing, but this partnership also helps address the need of increasing our testing capacity and residents getting their results faster.”

How to register for surge testing

Residents can pre-register for surge testing starting Friday, Aug. 5. Anyone can sign up for testing at one of our surge locations directly through doineedacovid19test.com or by visiting ReadyHarris.org. You can also register by calling 832-927-7575. Residents who sign up for testing online will need to create a profile, take the online assessment and select the site location and time.

You can confirm the appointment and make sure to bring your test voucher ID number with you.

Please note that this is a separate registration process than ongoing HCPH testing and individuals who prefer to go to HCPH mobile sites will continue to register by visiting: www.hcphtx.org or by calling 832-927-7575. All surge testing must register through www.doineedacovid19test.com, HCPH call center cannot register individuals for surge testing.

Officials said residents should expect their test results in three to five business days. An email notification will be sent to the user that their results are available through the patient portal. Results can be accessed by visiting www.doineedacovid19test.com and entering the same username and password used to sign up for testing.


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Prairie View A&M University graduate with a master’s degree in Digital Media Studies from Sam Houston State. Delta woman. Proud aunt. Lover of the color purple. 💜