WELL, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR
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BEING HERE, RENEE, UM, TRAVIS COUNTY, JUDGE[New COVID-19 Testing Site Opening Thanks to Federal, State and Local Partnership]
ANDY BROWN.AND JUST WANT TO SAY HOW GRATEFUL I AM TO BE HERE WITH LEADERSHIP FROM TRAVIS COUNTY, WITH CONGRESSMAN DOGGETT, WITH THE MAYOR OF AUSTIN COMMISSIONER GOMEZ, UH, AND THE HELP OF OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS.
WE REALLY HAVE TO COMBINE OUR EFFORTS TO PROVIDE THESE IMPORTANT SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE TODAY.
WE'RE REALLY HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE THAT THROUGH THE ASSISTANCE OF OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS, LIKE CONGRESSMAN LLOYD DOGGETT AND HHS, REGIONAL DIRECTOR, SEMA LODGE OF ON, WE ARE ABLE TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL FREE COVID-19 TESTING LOCATION FOR OUR MEETING ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST, THE COMMUNITY WILL BE ABLE TO GET PCR TESTING RIGHT HERE AT METS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
THE COMMUNITY IS ENCOURAGED TO MAKE AN ONLINE APPOINTMENT, BUT NO ONLINE APPOINTMENT IS REQUIRED.
SO YOU CAN JUST WALK UP IF YOU NEED TO.
UM, WE KNOW THAT THE BEST WAY STILL TO PROTECT OURSELVES AGAINST COVID IS TO GET VACCINATED, GET BOTH SHOTS, GET THAT BOOSTER SHOT AND ALWAYS WEAR A MASK WHEN YOU'RE AROUND OTHERS.
ESPECIALLY NOW, WHILE WE'RE IN STAGE FIVE, WE HEARD FROM OUR PUBLIC HEALTH AUTHORITY, DR.
WACHS, UH, THIS WEEK THAT OUR HOSPITALS ARE STILL FULL AND OUR ESSENTIAL WORKERS ARE TIRED.
OUR COMMUNITY IS STILL STRUGGLING.
WE'VE HAD OVER 1,235 DEATHS IN TRAVIS COUNTY FROM COVID.
SO IF YOU THINK YOU MAY BE SICK, IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO GET TESTED.
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO BE COVERED, AND YOU CAN HELP YOUR FAMILIES AND OUR COMMUNITY SLOW THE SPREAD AND GET BACK TO NORMAL BY GETTING TESTED AT THIS SITE HERE AT METS, JUST WANT TO SAY THANKS AGAIN TO OUR FEDERAL PARTNERS FOR THIS IMPORTANT ASSISTANCE, AND REALLY ENCOURAGE THE COMMUNITY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS FREE PCR TESTING OPPORTUNITY.
NOW I'M GOING TO PASS IT OVER TO CONGRESSMAN LLOYD DOGGETT.
THANK YOU, JUDGE SO MUCH FOR YOUR, UH, LEADERSHIP ON THIS SITE.
UH, IT IS GOOD TO BRING SOME GOOD NEWS THAT FEDERAL REINFORCEMENTS ARE ON THE WAY, AND THERE'LL BE HERE AT THIS SITE, NOON ON TUESDAY AFTER THAT, THERE'LL BE HERE SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, NINE TO NINE EVERY DAY.
THAT MEANS THAT MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY WILL BE ABLE TO GET THEIR FREE PCR TESTS, UH, FROM HERE IN AUSTIN AND ACROSS CENTRAL TEXAS, WE'RE BRINGING OUTSIDE HELP SO THAT MORE PEOPLE CAN GET THE TEST THAT THEY HAVE WAITED FOR, UH, SO THAT, UH, THEY WILL NOT BE SPREADING THE DISEASE.
THEY CAN DOCUMENT THEIR CONDITIONS.
THEY CAN COMPLY WITH REQUIREMENTS AT VARIOUS CHILDCARE AND SCHOOL FACILITIES.
APPOINTMENTS ARE ENCOURAGED AS THE JUDGE SAID, BUT ANYONE CAN WALK IN HERE AT ANY TIME, NINE TO NINE AND GET TESTED.
WE'RE BOTH BRINGING, UH, REINFORCEMENTS HERE AND WE ARE ALSO, UH, TRYING TO PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL AUSTINITES TO GET FREE CONVENIENT PCR TEST.
UH, THIS IS TO PROTECT THE HEALTH OF OUR NEIGHBORS, UH, AND IT REFLECTS THE FACT THAT, UH, PEOPLE, UH, NEED TO BE ABLE TO GET A TEST WHEN THEY HAVE TIME TO GET IT.
THIS SIDE IS FOR FOLKS WHO WAKE UP EARLY TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR KIDS, UH, FOR THOSE WHO ARE WORKING LATE ON A RESTAURANT SHIFT, UH, FOR THOSE WHO BALANCED NINE TO FIVES WITH RESPONSIBILITIES AT HOME FOR SO MANY OF OUR NEIGHBORS TRYING TO MAKE A FRAYED WORK FAMILY HEALTH ENDS MEET RIGHT NOW, UH, THIS NINE TO NINE EXPANDED HOURS WILL SUPPLEMENT THE TESTING SITES THAT HAVE BEEN AVAILABLE.
THEY ALLOW PEOPLE TO GET TESTED WHEN THEY'RE EXPOSED, WHEN THEY HAVE THAT FIRST SNIFFLE, THAT FIRST SIGN THAT THEY COULD HAVE A PROBLEM, AND THEY HAVE TIME TO GO ABOUT IT, UH, AFTER A SHIFT OR BEFORE A GATHERING, UH, CATCHING ASYMPTOMATIC AND PRESYMPTOMATIC INFECTIONS.
I THANK, UH, JUDGE BROWN FOR THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE TOGETHER RECENTLY, AND CERTAINLY TO OUR HHS REGIONAL DIRECTOR, THE SEAMER SEMA, UH, LEDGE VARDEN, UH, SHE HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH US, UH, AT A TIME WHEN TRAVIS COUNTY WAS OMITTED FROM THE INITIAL SIX, UH, URBAN AREAS THAT, UH, THE GOVERNOR REQUESTED SITES AT, UH, AND WORKING WITH, UH, MAYOR ADLER, JUDGE BROWN COMMISSIONER GOMEZ.
UH, I, UH, APPRECIATE WHAT ALL OF THEM ARE DONE HAVE DONE.
OUR WORK IS NOT FINISHED JUST WITH THIS SITE.
THERE IS MORE WORK TO BE DONE IN CONGRESS WHILE THE AMERICAN RESCUE PACKAGE, UH, THAT WE APPROVED LAST YEAR, FACILITATED THE FUNDING FOR THIS AND OTHER RESPONSES TO COVID.
THERE'S ABOUT ANOTHER $3 BILLION THAT WE'VE APPROVED IN THE HOUSE OR THINGS JUST LIKE THIS FOR GENOMIC TESTING, UH, FOR OTHER WAYS TO COMBAT THIS PANDEMIC, THERE ARE WAITING ACTION IN THE SENATE, AND I HOPE WE CAN GET ACTION ON THOSE ASPECTS OF BUILD BY BETTER, UH, IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.
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ALL GOOD NEWS TO DEAL WITH A TRULY BAD PROBLEM.UH, AND, UH, I THINK ARE COOPERATING TOGETHER.
CITY COUNTY AND FEDERAL IS PRODUCING SOME RESULTS.
SO I THINK THE IMPORTANT TAKEAWAY THIS MORNING IS THAT ONCE AGAIN, THE CALVARY IS COMING OVER THE HILL.
UH, I WANT TO THANK, UH, THE CONGRESSMAN DOGGETT.
I WANT TO THANK, UH, THE COUNTY, THE COMMISSIONER AND THE JUDGE, UH, FOR, FOR THEIR WORK, PUTTING THEIR SHOULDER TO, TO GETTING YET ANOTHER TESTING STATION OPEN IN OUR CITY.
ONE OF MY, AND EVERYBODY, THE TWO STATIONS THAT, UH, ARE CURRENTLY, UH, EXCUSE ME, AVAILABLE WILL CONTINUE TO BE AVAILABLE.
THIS IS NOW AN ADDITIONAL, AND IT CREATES INCREASES BY ANOTHER 50%.
THE NUMBER OF, OF, OF ON-GROUND, UH, ESTABLISHED STATIONS IN ADDITION TO THE ONES THAT ARE, THAT ARE MOVING, MOVING AROUND, THESE STATIONS ARE TESTING IS FREE.
ANYONE CAN COME UP, NO PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP OR OTHER DOCUMENTATION IS REQUIRED.
UH, YOU COME, YOU CAN MAKE AN APPOINTMENT, UH, NOTE THAT THE APPOINTMENT MAKING FOR THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN THE APPOINTMENT MAKING FOR THE OTHER TWO, UH, THIS STATION, UH, WHICH IS BEING OPERATED BY, UH, UH, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR.
YOU GO TO, I NEED A COVID 19 TEST.COM.
I NEED A COVID 19 TEST.COM AND YOU CAN REGISTER TO, TO COVID HERE.
UH, BUT YOU DON'T EVEN NEED TO REGISTER.
YOU CAN JUST WALK UP, UH, THE RESULTS WILL BE GIVEN BACK TO YOU, UH, BUT THERE'S ALSO AN 800 NUMBER THAT YOU CAN CALL TO BE ABLE TO GET THE TEST RESULTS.
UH, IN CASE YOU DON'T HAVE THE, THE, THEIR COMPUTER ACCESS, WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO MAKE THIS AS EASY AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
THIS STATION IS OPEN TILL NINE O'CLOCK IN THE EVENING LATER THAN THE OTHER STATIONS.
SO PEOPLE WHO WORK LATE THAT THAT'S STILL NEEDED AN EXTRA COUPLE HOURS TO COME BY.
THIS IS THE STATION TO COME TO ANYONE WHO HAS SNIFFLES OR THINGS THEY MIGHT BE GETTING COVID.
IT IS A COMMUNITY THAT WORKS TOGETHER, DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN WEARING MASKS WHEN YOU'RE CLOSE TO OTHER PEOPLE WEARING MASKS.
WHEN YOU'RE INSIDE, ALMOST REGARDLESS, GETTING THE VACCINATION AND GETTING BOOSTED, OUR COMMUNITY IS WORKING REALLY WELL TOGETHER.
THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY THEIR MORTALITY RATE HERE IN AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY IS HALF OF THE NUMBER THAT IT IS IN THE STATE.
IF THE STATE HAD THE SAME MORTALITY RATE WE HAD OVER 35,000 TEXANS WOULD STILL BE ALIVE.
THAT IS A TESTAMENT TO A COMMUNITY THAT IS WORKING TOGETHER, THE GOVERNMENT AT DIFFERENT LEVELS THAT ARE WORKING TOGETHER, BUT IT ULTIMATELY COMES DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL CHOICES WE MAKE.
IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU MIGHT BE GETTING SICK, IF YOU'VE BEEN WITH SOMEBODY WHO, YOU KNOW, GOT THE VIRUS, COME AND GET TESTED, AND I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO COMMISSIONER.
UH, EVERY ONE WHO HAS COME TOGETHER TO MAKE THIS POSSIBLE AND OSTRACIZED CONGRESSMEN DOGGIT, SAY AGAIN.
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THE NAMASKAR THE VIRUS GARDENING.SO THEN I SAW THE ROSE , SO YEAH, SEVEN DAYS, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, NINE TO NINE.
SO THAT, UH, ANYONE WHO'S WORKING LATE, UH, CAN'T GET HERE DURING NORMAL BUSINESS HOURS AND APPLY AT THE OTHER CENTERS.
THEY CAN COME IN HERE, GET FREE TESTING IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AS WELL AS THE SURROUNDING AREA.
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS OF HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO TEST PER DAY? YEAH, THE, SO THE CAPACITY HERE FROM 9:00 AM TO 9:00 PM STARTS ON A TUESDAY AT NOON, AND THEN IT'S NOT 8:00 AM TO 9:00 PM STARTING WEDNESDAY.
UH, WE CAN TEST UP TO 900 PEOPLE PER DAY, AND IT'S A PCR TEST, WHICH IS THE MOST ACCURATE TEST AVAILABLE THAT I KNOW OF.
AND THE RESULTS WILL COME BACK IN 48 TO 72 HOURS.
I'M GLAD IT'S HERE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD ON THE EAST SIDE, BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN SOME REAL DISPARITIES IN THE IMPACT OF, UH, THIS WHOLE PANDEMIC.
UH, AND I APPRECIATE THE ADVOCACY THAT'S GONE ON FROM THIS COMMUNITY, UH, TO SEE THAT WE ADDRESS THOSE INEQUITIES, THOSE DISPARITIES, BUT THIS IS OPEN TO PEOPLE THROUGHOUT AUSTIN AND ALSO THROUGH THE SURROUNDING AREA.
SO SOME OF MY FRIENDS FROM LOCKHART OR KYLE OR ROUND ROCK, THEY MAY BE COMING IN TO GET ASSISTANCE HERE.
ALSO, CAN YOU EXPLAIN EXACTLY WHERE THE, HOW LONG WILL THE, UH, I BELIEVE THE INITIAL, UH, IS, IS IT THREE WAYS, THREE WEEKS INITIALLY, AND IT CAN BE EXTENDED IF NEED EXIST.
SO THE FUNDING IS FEDERAL FUNDING.
UH, IT'S FUNDING THAT WE'VE APPROVED THIS PAST YEAR, UH, THROUGH THE RESCUE PLAN.
UH, AND I HOPE WE CAN GET MORE FUNDING THROUGH BILL BY BETTER, EVENTUALLY IN THE EVENT, WE NEED IT FOR MORE SITES LIKE THIS IN THE FUTURE, OR FOR THE GENOMIC TESTING THAT WILL ALLOW US TO IDENTIFY ANY NEW VARIANTS.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, THIS IS FEDERAL FUND.
THIS ISN'T THE HARPA MONEY TO THE COUNTIES GOT, AND THIS IS A HUNDRED PERCENT DIRECTLY.
THAT'S WHY WE WORKED WITH THE REGIONAL, UH, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DIRECTOR TO GET THIS MONEY.
UH, BUT, UH, JOHN BROWN WAS THE FIRST MONTH TO LEAD THE WAY WORKING WITH ALL OF US, WITH THE MAYOR AND COMMISSIONER, UH, TO, UH, BRING THIS TO MY ATTENTION.