Starting Thursday at 5 pm, the state of Florida will temporarily close state-administered COVID-19 test sites “in anticipation of the impacts” of a potential tropical storm that is currently lashing the caribbean with wind and rain. The Florida Division of Emergency Management announced the closure Wednesday, the same day the state established a new record for single-day coronavirus deaths.
The state administers 162 test sites in all but two of Florida’s 67 counties, according to the state health department website.
All state-supported test sites have tents, equipment and other “independent structures” that cannot withstand tropical storm force winds, the department said in a press release. If these objects are lifted during the storm, “they could cause damage to people and property if they are not insured.”
The department said the sites will remain closed until they can be safely reopened, but added that they are all expected to reopen by August 5 at the latest.
In a series of tweets, the department encouraged people with coronavirus symptoms to “receive a swab test at state-authorized access sites” before closure, adding that those people “will be prioritized” and receive their results. 72 hours from now
County health departments will continue to offer free COVID-19 tests, emergency management said.
But some counties are also closing their test sites. Miami-Dade County, which accounts for about a quarter of the state’s total coronavirus cases, according to state data, announced that all driving and test driving sites in the county will be closed from Friday “until new notice”. In Palm Beach County, which has the third highest number of cases in the state, the sites will be closed at least on Fridays and Saturdays. Some may reopen Monday, depending on the storm’s trajectory, the county’s website said.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm is expected to hit southern Florida on Friday night, possibly as a tropical storm.
The storm is forecast to produce strong winds and rainfall as it moves through Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and other Caribbean islands.
.
