Center for Covid Control testing sites closed for unknown reasons Monday

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - Questions continue about the operations of a local COVID-19 testing group. Center for Covid Control has been very popular in recent weeks with hundreds of people stopping by daily to receive tests.

On Thursday KBTX reported they weren’t sharing their results with the Brazos County Health District, a violation of orders by Gov. Greg Abbott. On Friday their College Station location was closed for unknown reasons and on Monday their locations on Texas Avenue as well as Woodville Road in Bryan were closed, despite a sign saying they’d be open Monday.

The Center for Covid Control offers rapid and PCR tests, and KBTX has been speaking with patients who are still waiting for test results

“We have no way of knowing. We’re still out there hung in the air. My granddaughters are fine. We thought they had it, they don’t have it,” said Chuck Lane of College Station.

Lane is frustrated after we first talked to him Friday. He’s been waiting for days to get COVID test results back.

“They said two hours, three hours, we’d have our results. Well we went back and the next day they were shut down and then you start wondering. They got a lot of my information,” he said.

Both State Rep. Kyle Kacal and Rep. John Raney are looking at the issue of pop-up COVID test sites after KBTX starting reporting on the issues last week.

“To your credit and your reports the last few days the numbers need to be shared with the local health department, so we have reached out to TDEM [Texas Division of Emergency Management] , the Governor’s Office and the Attorney General’s office. And the A.G. responded and they’re ready to help, they’re looking into it,” said Kacal, (R) - District 12.

They also expect the legislature will look at pop-up testing sites next session.

“We’ll have to look at that next session, which is not quite a year away so I’m sure that as things develop and we need to look at it at that time it will be looked at by the Legislative Branch,” said Raney, (R) District 14. “Because of your call we talked to the Department of Health and Services.”

While some customers did get results Lane questions the timing of the closing.

“Why didn’t we get our test results? Where are these people now? I’m being told they’re closed, both stations are closed,” said Lane.

KBTX has left multiple messages by phone and email with Center for Covid Control that have gone unanswered by management.

Monday evening a staff member texted us back after we’d called and texted them. They said they plan to reopen within the next few days. The staff member said they had to shut down due to a nationwide shortage of supplies.

Kacal says complaints about pop-up testing sites should be directed to the State Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-621-0508.

On Friday, USA Today published a story on their investigation on the Chicago-area based Center for Covid Control and the issues being seen in Brazos County.

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