Temporary site begins testing in Sunnyside

Facility to administer 150 tests a day; appointments required

A temporary site for COVID-19 testing opened Wednesday in Sunnyside, a predominantly black and lowincome neighborhood with one of the highest rates of confirmed novel coronavirus cases.

The drive-thru facility at Worthing High School opened at noon, about three hours behind schedule because of a large swath of thunderstorms that swept through the region hours earlier.

Because the site is considered a pop-up, it will run through Sunday with supplies to administer nasal swabs up to 750 people — or 150 people a day.

Mayor Sylvester Turner said appointments are required to be tested at the school.

The Sunnyside neighborhood in south Houston has roughly 3.1 cases per 1,000 residents, according to a Chronicle ZIP code analysis that Turner cited during a news conference.

“This will bring vital COVID-19 testing resources closer to vulnerable communities,” Turner said. “We know that African-Americans and Hispanics, as well as the elderly and people with underlying health conditions are disproportionately getting sick and dying from COVID-19.”

The Houston Health Department is operating the site with the Texas Department of Emergency Management.

Another pop-up site at the Kashmere Multi-Service Center ran out of tests for the day around 2:30 p.m., health officials said.

Around the same time, a long line of cars could be seen snaking around the parking lot at Butler Stadium, another city-operated testing site.

Photos by Godofredo A. Vásquez / Staff photographer Members of the National Guard ask that motorists keep their windows up as they direct incoming traffic Wednesday at a pop-up COVID-19 testing site at Worthing High School in south Houston.

A health professional conducts a COVID-19 test on a motorist at Worthing High School.