Early Friday morning cars started lining up at The Parks Mall of Arlington for people who made appointments to be tested -- a requirement for the drive-through location.
Shanna Crowson was inside one of them.
"I was sent home from work because I had symptoms Tuesday," Crowson said. "It's very concerning, you know? Like, I said, I'm in my 50's, I have asthma, I'd be one of those that maybe wouldn't make it."
While speaking on Facebook Live from the mall Friday, Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams said more testing is needed.
"This is an important step in our city council opening up our local economy and taking care of our citizens," Williams said.
Arlington's medical director and public health authority Cynthia Simmons explained what this testing truly provides.
"Testing is important for us in terms of identifying who has the COVID virus so that we can then have those people stay home and not spread the virus," Simmons said.
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But it extends beyond just the person getting tested.
"If they test positive we are able to isolate them and we are able to trace who's been in contact with them so that we can also isolate them or have them watch for symptoms depending upon the scenario and what sort of risk there is," Simmons said.
Collecting all this information is what Simmons said leaders need to safely reopen businesses.
"If we can provide the testing data for them, then they can have solid, good data to make those decisions and that's what we are looking to do here," Simmons said.
For more details on Arlington’s free clinic for county residents or to make an appointment to be tested, click here.
A second drive-through location opened at a Walgreens drug store in Fort Worth Friday. The location is on Camp Bowie West. More details are here.
