The Texas Division of Emergency Management will continue funding the testing through Oct. 3. This is the second time the testing has been extended, after it was initially pushed through Sept. 12. At the time, Frisco Fire Battalion Chief Jake Owen said it could be extended beyond that date.
“They have committed that as long as the demand is there, the site will remain operational,” said Owen, who represents the city of Frisco at the testing site. “We'll revisit [that in] the first week of September—we'll have another conversation about what the [testing] numbers are looking like, what the trends in the region are doing and the trends in the state.”
Since beginning operations Aug. 3, the site has completed just under 9,600 tests, Owen said. The site has the capacity to do as many as 1,000 tests per day, but has been averaging around 350 per day over the last two weeks, he said.
“We're very happy to have this commitment at least through Sept. 12 because Frisco ISD and many of the surrounding school districts are transitioning back to in-person learning after the Labor Day weekend,” Owen said. “We believe it will be very important for parents and teachers and school district officials to have a high volume testing opportunity available in our community as we make that transition.”
The free saliva tests are available to anyone, regardless of county or city of residence, though pre-registration is required. Owen said registration can be done at Texas.curativeinc.com and takes “two to three minutes” to complete.
Owen estimated about 40% of the tests administered at the site have been to Frisco residents, but noted residents from more than 180 ZIP codes took a test last week.
Appointments are available from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Owen said Mondays and Saturdays have been the busiest days, but the average time on site for vehicles is about 10 minutes.
“We just want to make sure that the availability is there in a timely manner, so that the people who need a test can get one the same day or the next day,” he said.
When the testing site was first announced, Owen said those wishing to be tested should not eat, drink or use mouthwash for 20 minutes before taking the test. The FDA-approved test is an observed self-collected test, which means participants are given the testing materials and instructions to collect their own sample. A video with instructions on the process is available here.
Curative Inc. reports that its test has an 89% accuracy rate. Participants receive results within two to four days, according to a city news release. Owen said Curative has been consistently emailing results to participants in less than 48 hours.
Dr Pepper Ballpark is located at 7300 RoughRiders Trail, Frisco.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect an extension of the testing dates. Testing will be done through Oct. 3.
