Home Depot, Publix offer COVID-19 testing

DeSantis: Parking lot test sites aim to provide shoppers ‘easy access’

Stock up on hurricane supplies and groceries — and get a test for the new coronavirus while you’re at it.

COVID-19 testing will begin in the parking lots of three Home Depot locations and three Publix sites, Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a visit Friday to a Home Depot in West Boca.

That location will be one of the places where shoppers can get tested; the chains will announce the other walk-up spots.

“I would imagine you’ll see several more in South Florida,” he said.

The Home Depot and Publix testing sites add to testing already offered at 77 CVS pharmacies, nine Walgreens, and nine Walmart locations, DeSantis said.

“If you’re shopping and want to get a test, you have the ability, very easy access,” he said. “You don’t even have to leave the parking lot to be able to do it.”

DeSantis said the demand for drive-through testing sites has decreased, which is where the parking lot testing sites will come in.

“What we’re finding is that we have the capacity to do at least 10,000 tests a day just from the drive-through sites, but yet we typically only have demand for about half that much,” DeSantis said.

Jared Moskowitz, director of Florida’s Division of Emergency

Management, said as Florida continues to reopen, there is a decline in the number of people coming to testing sites. With the parking lot testing sites, Moskowitz said the idea is to collect data to see how many people could be asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus.

“These sites are not meant for people who feel sick,” Moskowitz said. “If you feel sick, you have symptoms, we’re not asking you to come drive here. We want you to go to the testing sites we’ve set up. But if you’re out shopping, if you’re out back in society, and you just want to get a test, you want to know for sure. … That’s the whole point of these sites.”

DeSantis touted Florida’s increased COVID-19 testing and rattled off the number of tests showing negative results.

DeSantis said over the last 12 days, there have been more test results than in any other 12-day period this far but that between .67% and 3.3% of the tests show positive results. The tests showing negative results, DeSantis said,

range from 97 to 99%.

DeSantis also said Florida has had more coronavirus-related deaths with people ages 90 and above than it has had in the ages 65 and below.

The governor also used his visit to remind residents that there’s a sales tax holiday under way on eligible hurricane supplies for the next week.

Through Thursday, Florida residents can benefit with purchases made in stores and online. There’s usually a 7% sales tax in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties.

“You’ve got to be prepared for the storms to come,” DeSantis said.

Forecasters have predicted this year’s hurricane season, which officially runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, will be above-average. Complicating this year’s planning is the coronavirus pandemic, experts say.

“Obviously how we do certain things with evacuations if we have the virus still prevalent in the community is something that is going to have to be a big part of that,” DeSantis said.

Moskowitz said people should refrain from flooding the stores at once to stock up on hurricane supplies but to shop smartly by purchasing enough supplies for a 7-day period.

In reserve for hurricane season, Moskowitz said the Division of Emergency Management has 10 million masks, 5,000 thermometers, 5 million gloves in addition to face shields and large-capacity generators. About 200 hotels have signed up to serve as shelters in the communities for people who may need to evacuate in a hurricane. It will be up to the local government officials to decide how those hotels are used, like whether they will only be for COVID-19 positive people or the elderly population, he said.

“If you live in an area and that area is not safe for you, we want to make sure you feel comfortable to leave your house and get out of harm’s way,” Moskowitz said. “We’ve got to have that confidence that we’re providing a safe place for them.”

Floridians will save an estimated $5.6 million during the sales tax holiday, according to calculations from the state House of Representatives.

Check out our online tool at SunSentinel.com/MyStormPlan to plan purchases before going to the store. Answer a few questions and it will help you determine what you need. Eligible tax-free items are: $10 or less

■ Reusable ice packs $20 or less

■ Any portable self-powered light source such flashlights, candles, lanterns $25 or less

■ Any gas or diesel fuel containers, including liquid propane gas and kerosene $30 or less

■ Batteries: AA-cell, C-cell, D-cell, 6-volt or 9-volt (excludes automobile and boat batteries)

■ Rechargeable batteries

■ Nonelectric coolers and ice chests $50 or less

■ Portable self-powered radio, twoway radio or weather band radio

■ Tarps or flexible waterproof sheeting

■ First-aid kits (always exempt)

■ Ground anchor systems or tiedown kits and bungee cords $750 or less

■ Portable generators