As COVID-19 cases increase in Texas, test availability declines

Demand continues to increase as people return from holiday gatherings, and many are learning they have no choice but to wait in long lines for a test.

AUSTIN, Texas - As the latest COVID-19 surge grinds on in Central Texas, more people are trying to get tested.

Demand continues to increase as people return from holiday gatherings, and many are learning they have no choice but to wait in long lines for a test. While their reasons may very, they’re all in the same boat.

"I’ll be traveling soon," said Dusty Alkire, who was waiting in line for a test at the Long Center Wednesday.

"We had a Christmas celebration and one of our family members tested positive," said Linda Turner, also waiting in her car at Auditorium Shores.

"I want to make sure I’m good for new year’s and all that," said Delilah Castelan, who waited in her car for three hours to get a test at a pop-up site on South Lamar Boulevard.

People across Central Texas are finding themselves waiting in lines for hours to get a COVID test.

Austin residents seeking covid-19 tests had to wait hours on end.

"We’ve been here about two hours, we’re about to get to the front of the line, which is better than yesterday. My sister and law said it took her four hours," said Turner.

After overwhelming demand for tests at the Long Center Monday and Tuesday, Nomi Health extended their operation through the end of the week.

The two-hour wait there beat the three-hour wait at the South Lamar site, where traffic was backed up more than half a mile Wednesday—even longer than when FOX 7 was there on Monday.

"I was surprised, because I didn’t think it was going to be that big of a wait," said Castelan.

While drive-through tests are hard to come by, ones by appointment are even tougher to find. When we tried to book an appointment through the Walgreens website, the earliest is next Wednesday—and almost all are for lab tests, not rapid.

"I looked online, CVS, they’re all booked until the 3rd," said Castelan.

At the Curative site in Pflugerville, they had been taking walk-ins, but now, due to demand, they’re only doing appointments—which are also booking into next week.

"We looked everywhere online. Most appointments weren’t available until a couple of days," said Turner.

And forget about finding an at-home test. Most drugstores are sold out of them, and as soon as they get a shipment, the tests tend to fly off the shelves, one Walgreens pharmacist told FOX 7.

"This omicron surge is happening. We need the resources on the ground to do more testing," said James Hinson, as he waited in line at the Long Center.