MIAMI (WSVN) - Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that COVID-19 rapid testing will be available at two testing sites in Miami-Dade County.
DeSantis announced Monday that rapid testing would be available at Hard Rock Stadium and Marlins Park, starting on Wednesday.
The sites were set to open on Tuesday, but due to inclement weather, the reopening has been pushed back a day.
“We’re actually gonna convert two of our sites in Miami-Dade County — the Marlins Stadium and Hard Rock Stadium — to exclusively 15-minute antigen tests,” DeSantis said.
The governor said the conversion to rapid tests at these two sites is part of the state’s ongoing efforts to provide fast results to those who them the most.
“The tests will be for people that have symptoms, or for elderly — 65 or older,” he said.
DeSantis said there will still be a lane for traditional testing with people not showing symptoms.
“But for those folks who are older, symptomatic or both, you’re gonna be able to go in, get the antigen test, and in 15 minutes, walk out with a result,” he said.
The announcement comes as 13 COVID-19 testing sites reopened in Miami-Dade and Broward counties after they remained closed during the weekend in preparation for Tropical Storm Isaias.
DeSantis’ South Florida stop comes as the Sunshine State sees the lowest number of new COVID-19 cases in more than a month.
The Florida Department of Health on Monday reported 4,752 new infections, the lowest daily increase since the last week of June. Of those cases, 954 are in Miami-Dade, 556 are in Broward, and 22 are in Monroe.
Officials said it’s still unclear how Isaias affected the number of new cases.
State health officials also reported 73 new COVID-related deaths. According to state data, two of the lives lost were teenagers between the ages of 14 and 17, bringing the total to seven minors who have died from the disease in Florida.
However, there are encouraging signs. According to the state, there are fewer COVID-19 patients in South Florida hospitals, and a smaller percentage of people getting tested for the virus in Miami-Dade and Broward are coming back positive.
“Today, across our health system and our four hospitals, we have 198 COVID-positive patients, which is a significant from what we’ve seen the last couple of weeks,” said Broward Health CEO Gino Santorio. “Notably, our [intensive care unit] numbers and vented numbers are also performing better than anticipated and the projections. That’s a positive indicator.”
DeSantis said the Hard Rock Stadium and Marlins Park sites will be able to administer 1,250 rapid COVID-19 tests per day.
In Broward County, meanwhile, officials have lifted a curfew that was implemented due to the spread of the virus. A similar curfew remains in effect in Miami-Dade.
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