As Dallas COVID-19 Cases Rise, Two Testing Sites Lose Federal Funds

Jun. 23--As COVID-19 cases in Dallas continue to rise, two coronavirus testing sites in the city are set to lose their federal funding on June 30, Dallas officials said Tuesday.

This comes after Dallas County reported more than 400 new coronavirus cases for the third consecutive day and seven more deaths Tuesday. Dallas County has confirmed a total of 17,744 COVID-19 cases, including 324 deaths.

The sites are located at American Airlines Center and Ellis Davis Field House, WFAA-TV reported. The city and county will instead fund the Ellis Davis Field House site, and a new drive-thru testing site will be created at the University of Texas at Dallas, while the testing site at the American Airlines Center will close at the end of the month.

Rocky Vaz, director of emergency management for Dallas, told Allison Harris of Fox 4 News that the city asked the federal government for an extension past June 30, but that it unlikely it will happen.

At a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday President Donald Trump told his supporters that he told his administration to slow testing down.

Trump later tweeted on Tuesday that cases are going up in the U.S. because it is testing more than any other country and that with fewer tests there would be fewer cases reported.

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In Texas, the Texas Department of State Health Services reported 5,489 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday and 4,092 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 -- both record highs. Tuesday's hospitalizations were a jump of 381 patients from the previous record of 3,711 hospitalized Monday.

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