SAN ANTONIO – The doors of the Sonny Melendrez Community Center on the city’s West Side opened Wednesday to the public as a COVID-19 testing site. The center is the fifth such facility to recently open as the City of San Antonio and the Metropolitan Health District ramp up efforts to provide more testing.
“As we see COVID-19 numbers continue to increase, (we are) ensuring that we are taking extra precautions,” said District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo.
In 2020, City Council Districts 4 and 5 were deeply impacted, not just by a high number of COVID-19 cases, but deaths as well. Castillo said her district is a part of the city where some of the most vulnerable people live.
“Stories that I’ve heard from community members is that they can’t afford to get sick, so they know that the vaccine may potentially have some health impacts where they won’t be able to go to work the next day. But they know they need to make money to take care of their family,” Castillo said.
Though the number of COVID-19 infections is on the rise, so is the number of people in her district taking advantage of the resources available to them, Castillo said.
OneDistrict 5 resident said the location of the new testing site has served her and her family well, adding that the site is convenient, quick, and easy.
“I think it’s very important because it’s regarding our health, and that way we can be healthy and know where we stand as far as being positive or negative,” said Herlinda Medrano, a District 5 resident.
The Sonny Melendrez Community Center is located at 5919 W. Commerce St. and will be providing PCR testing services from 8 a.m. to 6 p .m. weekdays. No appointment is necessary and test results are available within 24 to 48 hours.