MIRAMAR, FLA. (WSVN) - Florida National Guard troops have been deployed on safety missions throughout Broward County to help set up coronavirus drive-thru testing facilities.
The state is partnering with Memorial Healthcare System to implement the drive-thru testing facilities around the county.
The Florida National Guard has called up all of it's medical professionals to form Task Force – Medical. Our #Soldiers and #Airmen are supporting the @HealthyFla Florida Department of Health (DOH) in Broward County. #COVID19#FloridaFirst #RightReadyRelelvant pic.twitter.com/ldtfpKUv4j
— FloridaNationalGuard (@FLGuard) March 15, 2020
The exact location of where the Broward drive-thru facilities will be is not yet known, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced immediate new actions to help stop the spread of the virus.
“We want to put resources where there’s the greatest need,” said DeSantis.
COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Broward County, and as of Tuesday morning, the county has 43 cases. Some hospitals are directing those with symptoms to triage areas.
“This is going to be a convenient way for a limited subset of the population to be tested,” said DeSantis. “We already have 170 plus guardsmen in Broward County. The idea is because we’ve had more cases in Broward than anywhere else, and we want to be able to supplement the health care system there.”
Florida National Guard Col. Ricardo Roig said, “What we do is a swabbing, we collect the sample, and then, we take proper measures to secure that sample and take it to the testing lab. There’s no need for them to get out of the vehicle when they come through, so that will be a very controlled environment, so that our soldiers can do their job.”
DeSantis announced in a media conference held on Tuesday morning that an elderly man in Broward who tested positive for COVID-19 has died. His death has been connected to an assisted living facility.
“This is a 77-year-old male who had significant underlying health problems,” said DeSantis. “All individuals at the facility are isolated and being evaluated.”
Nova Southeastern University in Davie told 7News that six of the cases out of Broward are linked to individuals who traveled internationally with the school.
“They had a lot of students who were infected in Ireland,” said DeSantis.
Transportation Security Administration officials have confirmed a TSA agent who works at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport tested positive for COVID-19. The agent’s coworkers are self-isolating, officials said.
In a statement released on Sunday afternoon, a TSA spokesperson said the employee is receiving medical care.
Some of Broward County’s first cases of the virus came in through Port Everglades from employees helping cruise ship passengers from all over the world with their vacations.
With the rapid spread of the virus, DeSantis is aiming to get the drive-thru testing sites open as soon as possible.
“To identify and get a baseline of how much this has spread in Broward is going to be important. It’ll help our efforts in containment and mitigation,” said DeSantis.
Although the details of the systems are being ironed out, Stanley Marks, Memorial Healthcare System’s Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, is concerned about conducting the tests at hospitals.
“We don’t want patients who are either asymptomatic or with low levels of illness on hospital campuses,” he said. “It’s not good for them, and it absolutely clogs up these already very crowded campuses.”
The federal government may also conduct tests in Florida. Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has been given permission to use the parking lot of Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens should the federal government become involved.
“We’re seeking their involvement here in Florida,” said DeSantis. “We think we’d be a good state to have some of those test centers.”
The drive-thru testing will be available to patients for free, and officials are hoping the first sites will open by end of the week.
“Would this be an open-ended testing component? And the answer to that is absolutely not,” Marks said. “We are going to try to focus on the elderly population, so those folks over age 65.”
Broward Health expects to have a similar system up and running near Commercial Boulevard soon.
The Cleveland Clinic is also set to roll out some drive-thru testing facilities.
Memorial Healthcare System said it is looking to set up a drive-thru testing site somewhere along the Pines Boulevard and Flamingo Road area, but they’re looking to set it up away from hospital property, like Memorial Hospital West.
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