For months now two women have been doing their parts in keeping the county as safe as possible from the spread of COVID-19. Even though there is now a vaccine, testing remains important in the fight against the virus.
“Testing is important. We get the residents listed for contract tracing and get them out of circulation as soon as possible,” said Michelle Morgan who, along with Angelica Huerta, tests people five days a week in towns around the county.
“I take most of their personal info and get their signatures and then Angelica does the swabs,” said Morgan who is the county’s economic director.
She got involved in the testing when the program was in the planning stage, she said.
“I asked if I could coordinate the testing. I got several FEMA certificates and certified under HIPAA,” she said.
Then Huerta joined the program and the testing team was born,
“Angelica she is my right hand. Her organizational skills are great. She works very, very hard. I am very proud she is on our team,” Morgan said.
Monday is the day most people show up, she said of the five days of testing those who think they might have the virus.
“They get to feeling poorly over the weekend, so Monday they are in line for testing,” she said.
She said she noticed a boost in the number of people showing up for tests after the November holiday.
“Since Thanksgiving the numbers have gone up,” she said
For a while now the pair have been testing at area schools, she noted.
“I am proudest that we are giving the schools the tests, too,” she said. “We are not giving that extra burden to the schools to have to test and then make the phone calls.
“We call everyone negative or positive. But if people want to hang around for 30 or so minutes to get the results they can,” she said
“I am looking forward to our community being safe,” she said.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funding which had been paying for the testing ended Dec. 31, she said.
“But the Milam County Health Department agreed to foot the bill starting Jan.1 and continuing possibly to March,” she said.
“These ladies are doing an incredible job. On average they are testing about 50 people per day. The lines are long and the people are sick. But they go about their business in such a cheerful and professional manner to the benefit of us all,” said County Judge Steve Young. “These ladies are putting their lives on the line everyday for the benefit of all of us in the county, so we can quickly find out if we are infected or not. Since Sept. 1, 2020 this team has tested approximately 2,000 individuals in the county.”
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