On Wednesday, April 29, 2020, Congressman Al Green joined Mayor Sylvester Turner as well as representatives from the Houston Health Department and Texas Department of Emergency Management to announce a new coronavirus testing site in Sunnyside, located in the Ninth Congressional District. Congressman Green released the following statement:

“I am gratified to join city and state officials in announcing the opening of a new coronavirus testing site in Sunnyside, located in the Ninth Congressional District. According to the Houston Chronicle, the 77051 zip code has the second-highest rate of coronavirus cases in Harris County, Texas, and includes Sunnyside, which is a predominantly African-American community,” said Congressman Al Green. “My colleagues and I – at both the local and national levels – must continue to work together to ensure vulnerable, majority-minority communities like Sunnyside have adequate access to coronavirus testing.”

Green – whose congressional district includes the Sunnyside neighborhood – added, “What’s happening in Sunnyside and other African-American communities across our nation is a bellwether of how the coronavirus crisis may impact other communities. The United States has quickly become the leader of global coronavirus cases, and we have seen the crisis’s disparate impact on African Americans. Even in Houston, more than 50% of coronavirus deaths have been African Americans, while African Americans make up only 23% of the population.”

“I must thank Mayor Turner as well as Director Williams and Dr. Persse of the Houston Health Department for their continued leadership in combatting the coronavirus crisis in the City of Houston. Although today we are here about Sunnyside, this is bigger than Sunnyside. What happens in Sunnyside can impact the east side, west side, north side, and all sides. Each of us must continue to do our part to protect all vulnerable communities from further harm due to COVID-19.”