HOUSTON — With Thanksgiving behind us, many of the Houston area's free COVID-19 testing sites that were closed for the holiday are now reopening.
Editor's note: the video in this story is from early August 2020 when the COVID testing site at Minute Maid first opened
While we have seen videos and photos on social media and the news of long lines at drive-through testing sites around the country, this may be the best weekend to get in and out to get a free test quickly. The results typically come back in about three days, more or less.
The Houston Health Department tweeted that as of 9 a.m. Friday there were more than 300 same-day appointment slots available at the Minute Maid testing location alone with more than 3,000 available for the weekend:
Looking for a location closer to you? Check out our list of free COVID-19 testing sites across the Houston area here.
Getting tested because you attended a Thanksgiving gathering?
It's unlikely a test this weekend would show you as being coronavirus-positive from a Thanksgiving gathering so soon. If you do have a test that comes back positive or you start to show symptoms, it is more likely that you got the coronavirus before your travels/gathering. The CDC recommends that if you have concerns about possibly having been exposed, you shouldn't wait for test results to indicate you are positive or negative for COVID. Instead, you should quarantine for two weeks as a precaution while waiting for your tests results.
Harvard Medical School says it is generally thought to take 3 to 14 days from the time of exposure to the time that symptoms start to show.