President Trump’s administration is ending its support for coronavirus testing sites across the country at the end of the month, including seven in Texas, as COVID-19 cases continue to spike in a number of areas nationwide.
Several Texas officials are calling on the administration to extend the support for the testing sites, with the Houston Health Department’s public health authority writing that the lack of support could cause “catastrophic cascading consequences.”
Talking Points Memo first reported on Tuesday that the Trump administration was ending financial support for 13 sites across five states, including the seven in Texas.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency deployed Community-Based Testing Sites throughout the U.S., which beyond Texas included two in Illinois, two in New Jersey, one in Colorado and one in Pennsylvania.
A spokesperson for Sen Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told the Chronicle that the senator “has urged and will continue to urge HHS and FEMA to extend the community testing sites in Texas.”