Testing sites on the way
A combination of five new drive-thru and walk-up coronavirus testing sites are coming to South Florida over the next week, as the region continues a shutdown aimed at stopping the spread of infections.
Gov. Ron DeSantis unveiled the testing expansion plans while discussing the phased reopening of the rest of the state beginning Monday.
The new state-supported sites include: a drive-thru in Fort Lauderdale; a walk-up and drive-thru in Miami-Beach; a walk-up in North Miami to serve the Haitian community; and a walk-up in Riviera Beach.
That adds to five state-run drive-thru sites that have been testing people at Marlins Park, Hard Rock Stadium, Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, South County Civic Center in West Delray, and C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines.
DeSantis praised the success of three walk-up community sites that opened in Broward and Palm Beach counties two weeks ago and have swabbed thousands of individuals.
“That’s bringing testing to people who may not be seeking out the testing,” DeSantis said. “The drive-thru sites are great, but we can’t force anyone to do it. They either go or they don’t. So these walk-up sites are really important. We want to be able to spot trends in some of the underserved communities.”
Fort Lauderdale’s first COVID-19 drive-thru testing site will open Thursday at Holiday Park, Mayor Dean Trantalis announced Wednesday. He called it a major part of the city’s phased reopening.
The drive-thru operation will be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday at the park near Federal Highway, south of Sunrise Boulevard. Officials plan to swab up to 400 residents per day by appointment only.
South Florida death toll nears 700; state counts 33,193 people infected. The state Department of Health on Wednesday reported 33,193 people have had coronavirus since the outbreak began. That figure includes an increase of 347 diagnoses from a day earlier.
The total number of Florida deaths, 1,218, is up by 47 from Tuesday. Miami-Dade County had a one-day increase of 14 deaths, most in the state.