COVID testing at Florida-run drive-thru and walk-up sites suspended due to tropical storm
If you want to get a coronavirus test from the state, you’d better get it done by 5 p.m. Thursday. All state-supported drive-thru and walk-up COVID-19 testing sites will temporarily close right after due to threat of Tropical Storm Isaias.
That means popular testing sites will be closed until Tuesday morning, by state order. These include Hard Rock Stadium, Marlins Park, Miami Beach Convention Center and Tropical Park in Miami-Dade; CB Smith Park, Mitchell Moore Park, War Memorial and Sawgrass Mills in Broward; and Town Center at Boca Raton Mall and Florida Atlantic University in Palm Beach County.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said county-run sites would also abide by the closing.
Due to the possibility of tropical storm conditions in South Florida, both state and county supported COVID-19 testing sites will be closed starting this evening. I will hold a virtual press conference that will be streamed on my social media pages at 2 p.m. with more details.
— Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez (@MayorGimenez) July 30, 2020
Broward County Mayor Dale V.C. Holness also announced the region’s state-run sites would be closed after 5 p.m. Thursday with an anticipated reopening “at the latest” by 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Florida’s health department says it is taking this action “out of an abundance of caution” to keep staff at the sites safe and because of how testing sites are constructed. This takes time to dismantle and set back up.
“All sites have free standing structures including tents and other equipment, which cannot withstand tropical storm force winds, and could cause damage to people and property if not secured,” the health department said in a media release.
Thursday morning, Isaias had hit Puerto Rico with lashing rain and winds of 50 mph. By Thursday afternoon, maximum sustained winds were near 60 mph with higher gusts, and its tropical-storm-force winds extended up to 310 miles of the center.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say the storm could arrive at the coast of South Florida sometime Saturday. But there remains some uncertainty.
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