Free COVID testing continues in Caldwell County

By Kristen Meriwether
Editor LPR

To help curb the spread of COVID-19, the Caldwell County Office of Emergency Management is continuing to offer free testing within the county.

December 7-11, the free mouth swab tests are being conducted at the Luling Northside City Park Clubhouse at 400 Trinity Street in Luling. Anyone wanting a test can walk up from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and no appointment is needed. Residency within the county is not required and you may get tested more than once in a month.

LPR went to the testing site in Dale last week and found no lines, friendly staff, and an easy-to-follow process. Results were emailed 24 hours later.

Following the Thanksgiving holiday 634 people took advantage of the free tests, according to Caldwell County Emergency Manager Hector Rangel. The county hopes to continue the free testing leading up to the Christmas holiday, but is waiting to secure locations before making an announcement.

Caldwell county has seen an increase of 3.3 percent of confirmed cases since last week, according to the Weather Channel app. Deaths attributed to COVID in the county have remained at 39 for months.

The app, which uses your location to provide local COVID numbers, collects Texas Department of Health, as well as Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention data, and is used by Caldwell County health officials.

Though the county has not seen a huge post-Thanksgiving spike in cases or deaths attributed to COVID, the Lockhart City Council is closely monitoring the numbers, as well as compliance with the order to wear a mask indoors.

At the December 1st meeting, the council opted to not issue written warnings to businesses for non-compliance with the mask ordinance. The council voted to use verbal warnings, but will continue to monitor compliance, as well as cases numbers.