Despite repeated attempts, Chambers County officials said they’ve been unable to secure the necessary testing supplies or personal protection equipment needed to help combat the novel coronavirus locally.
Instead, officials said, they’ve watched supplies go to larger counties, like neighboring Harris, that is offering “high-volume testing sites.”
As of Thursday, the county had 34 reported positive cases of COVID-19 and 17 recoveries.
The county reports it’s tested 421 residents out of a possible 44,000.
“Chambers County has repeatedly requested the resources to enable us to conduct those free COVID-19 tests, but like several other smaller counties, we have been denied the resources to enable us to offer free tests to our residents,” officials said in a news release.
County officials said they’ve requested supplies since mid March, including 1,000 test kits from the state, but that request was denied; instead, they were sent five test kits.
County health officials said they’ve tried to partner with local hospitals for testing, but because of a backlog they’ve been unable to do so. Health officials said they plan to open a free drive-through testing site with the limited tests they have, but “will not be able to meet our local needs.”
Great news if you watch TV with an antenna
KHOU has just upgraded its technology. If you were unable to receive KHOU with your antenna in the past, try again on channel 11.11. You may have to rescan your channels for it to work – if that’s the case, we’ve got some instructions at KHOU.com/antenna. If you already see KHOU on 11.1, you may now ALSO see it on 11.11 – it’s the exact same programming. We’re really excited to be able to bring our KHOU 11 News, CBS shows and sports, Wheel of Fortune, Ellen and Great Day Houston to more homes around the area. If you’re still having trouble, please contact us here and we’ll try to get you set up.