Gov. Ron DeSantis announces new walk-up test sites in Florida

First walk-up test sites opens in Broward County

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference in Fort Lauderdale Friday to discuss a new concept for testing in high hit areas.

During the news conference, DeSantis announced the next phase of testing in Florida, walk-up testing.

The first walk-up site will be located in the same county that introduced the first drive-thru test sites, Broward County.

The sites will be located at Mitchell Moore Park and the Broward Urban League.

According to the governor, it doesn’t matter your age or if you traveled. If you are showing symptoms, you can walk up and receive a test.

Officials said the test site will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m every day except Thursday. Each patient will be given a face mask and will follow social distancing guidelines.

An appointment is not necessary but can be made by calling 954-412-7300.

Gov. DeSantis announces walk-up test sites

According to officials, the new site will only offer a limited number of tests per day.

“We’ll start with 200 tests a day and we’ll see where it goes from there,” DeSantis said.

Each client will receive a bag of resources when leaving the test site. County health officials will notify patients with results.

The first test site will operate in Broward County, however, the governor is looking at other areas like Miami Dade to implement walk-thru sites.

As of Thursday night, more than 23,300 Florida-related cases of the novel coronavirus had been confirmed by the Florida Department of Health.

There are currently over 3,400 patients being hospitalized due to the virus, according to health officials.

According to Gov. DeSantis, the vast majority in Florida who received positive status did not need to be hospitalized.

For more information on the coronavirus Floridians can test FLCOVID19 to 888777

READ MORE: ‘We have to do better:’ DeSantis shakes up the lead to Florida’s botched unemployment claims


About the Authors:

Mark Lehman became a News 6 reporter in July 2014, but he's been a Central Florida journalist and part of the News 6 team for much longer. While most people are fast asleep in their bed, Mark starts his day overnight by searching for news on the streets of Central Florida.

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