Texas plans to double the COVID-19 testing as the state moves forward to open the economy, according to the “Open Texas Report” Governor Abbott released last week.

While current testing is approximately 15,000 to 20,000 per day, the goal is to increase it to 30,000 tests administered per day.

COVID TESTING IS NECESSARY for some people, but according to one person who was tested, “It is an uncomfortable feeling but it doesn’t really hurt.” She further explained that she coughed and gagged from the test, but that it does not go in the way they have made it seem.

Previous limitations with testing are being expanded, regardless of community size or the patient’s age, they are eligible for testing under the new plans.

Three-hundred testing sites are currently listed on the state’s website.

At least 17 mobile drive-thru teams, like the one in Freestone County on Sunday, April 26, 2020, have been trained and deployed to serve rural areas, in order to offer state-supported testing in every Texas county.

Texas will have 25 operational mobile testing teams before the end of April.

Previously, testing focused specifically on hospitalized patients, people in long-term care facilities, healthcare workers and first-responders, and Texans over the age of 65.

Now, as resources allow, individuals with mild symptoms can also be tested.

The state is asking people to only be tested when needed, and not to just be tested to check the result.

Texans can go online to check their symptoms, to learn if they should be tested for COVID-19, and where to go to be tested at www.texas.gov.

“COVID-19 is a formidable enemy, but Texans don’t shrink from a fight. By continuing to focus on and expand our testing capabilities, Texas is surely and steadily winning that fight,” as stated in the Open Texas Report.