Delta area residents will soon have a new option for obtaining COVID-19 testing once a drive-thru site opens up in Elsa on Monday.
Elsa city officials announced the new testing site in a Facebook post on Tuesday. The privately run drive-thru testing site will be located at Mario Leal Park, 616 W. Ciro Cacares St. in Elsa. Starting April 27, testing will be available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.
Emergency Diagnostic Solutions, the company administering the tests, will offer two different kinds of tests: a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) flu test, which has a 99% accuracy rate, and an EAU Rapid COVID-19 test, which has a 95% accuracy rate, according to the city’s post.
PCR test results can take up to 72 hours, while the rapid test can show results in as little as 15 minutes, the post states.
Patients will need valid photo identification, up-to-date contact information, and a physician’s order for the test. A doctor’s order can be obtained onsite via a Telehealth visit for $25, the post reads.
The rapid test will cost $75, while the PCR costs $150, and may be billed to insurance.
The new site is the result of collaboration between the cities of Elsa, Edcouch, La Villa, Hidalgo County Precinct 1, and the testing company.
EDS has opened one other site in the Mid-Valley, in Weslaco, where operations began Monday at Mayor Pablo Peña Park.
