Coronavirus News

Dallas launches mobile COVID-19 testing for residents without cars

Coronavirus testing COVID-19 testing lab doctor test

If the people can't come to the tests, then the tests will come to the people.

Photo by Getty Images

UPDATE 5-18-20: Mobile COVID-19 testing has been expanded to allow up to 60 tests per day across all ZIP codes within the city of Dallas.

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The city of Dallas is expanding access to COVID-19 testing via a mobile unit that will visit communities without transportation.

The mobile unit will hit five zip code areas, all located south of I-30.

At its May 13 meeting, the Dallas City Council approved a contract to provide mobile COVID-19 testing specifically to residents in underserved communities.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson says in a statement that COVID-19 testing is critical to Dallas' public health response and economic recovery efforts.

"This service will also provide equity in our fight against this pandemic by ensuring testing access for our vulnerable and underserved communities," Johnson says. "While this disease has pushed us away from each other physically, we cannot let it tear us apart and deepen the divide in our city between the haves and have-nots."

The mobile testing is set to launch on Friday May 15.

To be eligible for COVID-19 Mobile Testing, residents must:

Reside in one the following ZIP codes: 75211, 75215, 75216, 75217, or 75227
NOT have transportation and NOT have means to get to a testing site

They must also have at least one of these four symptoms:

Temperature of 99.6 degrees Fahrenheit or higher 
Cough 
Shortness of breath 
Recent direct contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19

The service provides COVID-19 testing only. It is not for medical or life-threatening emergencies and is not a substitute for a visit to a physician.

Assistant City Manager Jon Fortune says the mobile testing will provide up to 60 tests per day, at no cost to eligible residents.

The city also plans to explore more options to increase testing.

The COVID-19 mobile testing appointments can be scheduled between 9 am-9 pm, 7 days a week, during two-hour time slots, through the UrgentCare2GO screening line by calling 1-888-601-0568.

health

E-Cigarette News

Dallas City Council places restrictions on vaping in public

Unsplash

Man vaping

Vaping will now be banned exactly like smoking, thanks to a new ordinance from the Dallas City Council.

At their December 11 meeting, the council passed an ordinance to ban vaping in all the same areas where smoking is not allowed. It'll go into effect on December 11, 2025 — giving everyone a year to get into compliance.

Proposed by City of Dallas Environmental Commission (EVC) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (OEQS), the ordinance amends the definition of “smoking” in the Dallas City Code to include the use of vaping devices.

The ordinance does not ban vaping — it only bans where you can vape: no vaping in all indoor and enclosed spaces; within 15 feet of building entrances; and on park property. The ordinance also bans marijuana smoking in those same places.

In addition, the amendment requires restaurants, hotels, fitness centers and other businesses to update their signage to clearly state that both smoking and electronic smoking devices are prohibited.

The ordinance already earned widespread support from health organizations such as the Dallas County Health and Human Services, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. These organizations, along with the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Surgeon General, have all raised concerns about the health risks of direct and second-hand exposure to vaping aerosols, particularly for vulnerable populations such as children and older adults.

Dallas is not the first city to impose such a ban: San Antonio enacted a similar ban in October. Theirs goes into effect on January 1, 2025.

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