Drive-thru testing facilities for coronavirus now operational at 2 Austin-area locations

Following a March 13 declaration of a state of disaster from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during which he announced the immediate operation of a drive-thru testing facility for the coronavirus in San Antonio, Baylor Scott & White has begun operating two such facilities in the Austin area as of March 16.

The two testing sites are at 425 University Blvd., Round Rock, and 5251 W. US Hwy. 290, Austin, said Christina Millweard, senior marketing and public relations consultant for Baylor Scott & White Health, in an email to Community Impact Newspaper.

Patients wanting to get screened through these facilities must first fill out an online questionnaire either on the MyBSWHealth app or at MyBSWHealth.com, Millweard said.

"The results of this questionnaire may recommend further evaluation for those with more significant risk, including an eVisit with a Baylor Scott & White provider between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.," Millweard said. "If a provider advises that a patient should be tested for COVID-19, specimen collection can be arranged at one of our local collection sites, including drive-thru specimen collection locations."

Millweard stressed patients must only go to these sites after they have completed the questionnaire and subsequent consultation with Baylor Scott & White's medical team and said the process is only for those not experiencing a medical emergency.

"Please note that specimen collection sites may relocate based on a number of factors," Millweard said. "This underlines the importance for patients to first take the online questionnaire and receive guidance from one of our medical team members before arriving to a site for specimen collection."