Drive-thru coronavirus testing sites coming to Volusia County, state representative says

Sites coming to east, west sides of county, representative says

In this photo taken Sunday, April 5, 2020, laboratory technicians handle microcentrifuge tubes containing patient samples to be tested for the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19, at the Pathologists Lancet Kenya laboratory in Nairobi, Kenya. The company, which is offering tests to patients with a doctor's referral, was previously having to send samples to South Africa for testing but is now completing the testing in-house in Kenya. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga) (Brian Inganga, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Florida State Representative David Santiago said in a video posted to Facebook that new drive-thru coronavirus testing sites will be coming to Volusia County within the next week to better service residents.

In the video posted Monday, Santiago said the decision to open the testing sites was made in the last 48 hours after speaking with local hospital CEOs, the Sheriff’s Office and Gov. Ron DeSantis to better asses need in the community.

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“I’m proud to announce that the work over the last 48 hours I’ve been doing and talking to folks, they’ve agreed that sometime next week we will have drive-thru testing facilities on both the east side and the west side (of Volusia County)," Santiago said.

2,500 kits were set to be delivered Monday to ensure facilities are ready to assist in an expected influx of individuals looking to be tested. Health officials in the county are discussing the possibility of having test results turned around within 24 hours.

[RELATED: Gov. DeSantis: Rapid tests, travel checkpoints now part of Florida’s fight against coronavirus]

Santiago said the guidelines and parameters of who can be tested at these facilities will be released “shortly."

No additional information on the exact locations of the testing sites has been released.

It was not immediately clear how many tests each facility would be able to handle per day or what the operating hours would be.

This is a developing story. Stay with news 6 for updates.

To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6′s coronavirus newsletter or go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.


About the Author

Erin began her career at News 6 as an assignment editor, then became a show producer. She is now a digital storyteller as part of the Click Orlando team.

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