In August, an agreement between the city and OakBend Medical Group was reached, providing Wharton residents with free COVID-19 testing.
Testing began Monday, Sept. 14 and since then, City of Wharton City Secretary Paula Favors reported less than 10 residents have registered.
“This could be seen as good and bad,” Favors told The County Gin. “Hopefully, this means the spread of the virus is slowing, but it could very well mean people don’t know the service is there. We do not want our residents facing charges through third party providers.”
City of Wharton Mayor Tim Barker agreed with Favors, saying, “We wish to encourage citizens of Wharton to utilize this free testing if needed.”
He continued, “It’s there. It’s free and it helps to control the spread of the virus. We all want our city to be healthy and safe.”
Testing dates and times are as follows: Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; and the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., excluding the free State of Texas testing dates.
Proof of residency will be required and pre-registration is encouraged.
For more information and to register for testing, visit the OakBend Medical Group website.
[…] began on Sept. 14, and as reported by The County Gin on Oct. 1, utilization of this service has been […]