Houston pleads for more tests, gear as cars pack hospital

A medical worker tests a person for the coronavirus at a drive-through facility primarily for first responders and medical personnel in San Antonio, Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, "This is not a time to panic. It's not as if we have never been through this before. We've been through this many, many times." (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

A man tries to talk to officials while standing in front of a line of cars stretching over two-miles to enter drive-thru testing for COVID-19 at United Memorial Medical Center, Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Houston. For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A person is taken on a stretcher into the United Memorial Medical Center after going through testing for COVID-19 Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Houston. People were lined up in their cars in a line that stretched over two miles to be tested in the drive-thru testing for coronavirus. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Healthcare professionals prepare to begin testing at a drive-thru testing site for COVID-19 at United Memorial Medical Center Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Houston. For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A group of coronavirus specimen collection units sit on the desk where Texas Governor Greg Abbott, center, addressed the coronavirus death of Patrick James who resided at the Texas Masonic Retirement Center. The press conference was held in the Arlington Emergency Management office in Arlington, Wednesday March 18, 2020. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News via AP)

In this image made from video, Robert Buentello, an order selector, sorts through pallets of toilet paper at H-E-B’s main distribution center in Houston on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. The Texas grocery chain says a surge of customer demand from panic buying due to concerns over the novel coronavirus has caused bottlenecks in the supply chain to its more than 400 stores throughout the state and Mexico. (AP Photo/John L. Mone)

A patient is tested by a healthcare professional at a drive-thru testing site for COVID-19 at United Memorial Medical Center Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Houston. For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A healthcare professional hands a checklist to a patient at a drive-thru testing site for COVID-19 at United Memorial Medical Center Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Houston. For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A line of cars stretching over two-miles wait to enter drive-thru testing for COVID-19 at United Memorial Medical Center, Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Houston. For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Health care professionals prepare to open drive-thru testing for COVID-19 at United Memorial Medical Center Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Houston. For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Healthcare professionals prepare to test a woman during drive thru testing for COVID-19 at United Memorial Medical Center Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Houston. The woman was later placed on a stretcher and taken into the facility for treatment. For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A healthcare professional, left, asks a patient to lower their window during drive thru testing for COVID-19 at United Memorial Medical Center Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Houston. For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

A woman is taken on a stretcher by healthcare professionals into the United Memorial Medical Center after going through testing for COVID-19 Thursday, March 19, 2020, in Houston. People were lined up in their cars in a line that stretched over two miles to be tested in the drive-thru testing for coronavirus. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

by Paul J. Weber & John L. Mone
| March 19, 2020 10:55 AM

In this image made from video, Robert Buentello, an order selector, sorts through pallets of toilet paper at H-E-Bs main distribution center in Houston on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. The Texas grocery chain says a surge of customer demand from panic buying due to concerns over the novel coronavirus has caused bottlenecks in the supply chain to its more than 400 stores throughout the state and Mexico. (AP Photo/John L. Mone)

HOUSTON (AP) — Cars lined up for more than a mile outside a Houston hospital Thursday as the nation's fourth-largest city began drive-thru testing for the coronavirus, but officials warned they don't have enough kits or protective gear to meet demand.

“I don't want to create false hope that we are ready right now to have a radical increase in testing," said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the top county official in Houston. "We are unfortunately not.”

Hours after the drive-thru testing began, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered schools closed for more than 5 million students and shuttered restaurant dining rooms. Texas has more than 140 cases and health officials in Dallas confirmed the state's fourth death related to the virus that causes COVID-19. About 2,500 testing kits were available at the drive-thru at United Memorial Medical Center and only those showing symptoms would be screened for the virus, said U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.

She warned that the state is running out of personal protective equipment and that more is needed, although she didn't say how long the existing supply would last.

One of the first vehicles through was a red pickup truck containing a woman who could be heard loudly coughing. Health workers in blue protective gear removed her from the truck and put her on a stretcher, then wheeled her into a nearby tent.

For most people, the coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

The vast majority of people recover from the virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild cases recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe ones can take three to six weeks to recover.

Nationwide, public frustrations over the difficulties of getting tested for the new virus have been building since the first U.S. case was confirmed Jan. 20. Early missteps with test kits developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, coupled with strict government criteria about who qualified for screening, have led to widespread reports of people struggling to get tested.

Texas health officials reported that the state had administered about 2,000 tests as of Wednesday. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told mayors and county officials a week ago that the supply of tests exceeded demand, and on Thursday said the state will soon have the capacity to test around 15,000 people a week.

Abbott had lagged behind other governors nationwide in ordering school and business closures, having until now left that decision to local health officials. That resulted in a patchwork of restrictions that had varied starkly even between big neighboring cities such as Dallas and Fort Worth, frustrating and confusing some local officials.

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Weber reported from Austin, Texas.

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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

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