By SKYE SEIPP
@seippetc

Eastfield will become a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site on Monday for residents of Dallas County. Tests are free for residents.
The testing site will operate out of Parking Lot 8 Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m.- 1 p.m. or until the daily capacity of 500 tests has been met. People looking to be tested must enter the campus from La Prada Drive. There will be more instructions on where to go after entering the campus.

People can prove they live in the county by bringing a driver’s license, government-issued I.D., utility bill, bank statement or anything else that proves residency.
Besides being a resident of Dallas County, people must meet one of the following requirements to be tested:
● Have symptoms of COVID-19
● Be 65 years of age or older
● Have chronic health issues, such as diabetes, asthma or heart disease
● Be a first responder or essential worker
● Have been in a large group setting within the past 15 days
Dallas County is transitioning its site at the University of Dallas in Irving to Eastfield, County Judge Clay Jenkins’ Chief of Staff Lauren Trimble said in an email. The site is operated by the private health management company, Honu, that sends the tests to the Pro-Lab Diagnostics laboratory in Round Rock. As of Wednesday, Trimble said test results in 90 percent of people are made available within 2-3 days, with most being received in 48 hours.

Today is the last day for #COVID19 testing at @UofDallas. Staring Monday 8/3, testing will be @eastfield_dc from 7am-1pm, 3737 Motley Dr., Mesquite, TX 75150 but entrance will be off La Prada Dr. https://t.co/pmMMOjGXM2

— Clay Lewis Jenkins (@JudgeClayJ) July 31, 2020

The testing site is expected to last for a month and will be reviewed after three weeks for a possible extension, campus spokesperson Sharon Cook said.
Campus President Eddie Tealer said the school is proud to provide services for the community like COVID-19 testing and mobile food pantries through the North Texas Food Bank.
“We know that our community is in desperate need of this testing, and Eastfield remains very much committed to those we serve in a spirit of compassion and empathy,” he said in a written statement. “Their success is our success, and when they suffer, we also suffer.”
Eastfield is not the only Dallas College campus with a testing site. Mountain View recently opened one on July 22 and Brookhaven is also being looked at to become one, but a start date has not been determined.
Dallas County reported 537 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, which is a continuation of a downward trend in new daily case totals and brought the total to 49,269. The county does not report recoveries. The county also reported six deaths on Thursday, bringing the total to 664.
A summary released by Dallas County Health and Human Services on Tuesday reported that Mesquite made up 5.7 percent of the total case number — 48,028 — for that day.
https://eastfieldnews.com/2020/06/13/cares-act-money-now-available-for-students/