SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Thursday marks another day of long lines outside COVID-19 testing sites across South Florida.
Cases are also on the rise again, as the omicron variant has become the dominant strain.
“This is insane,” said Ignacio Flores while waiting to get tested at Tropical Park. “It’s actually better now. I drove by at around midnight. It was all the back to 87th Avenue.”
Cars flooded into the street outside the site and onto Bird Road overnight.
“We’re not sure if we have it or not, but we’ve been a little feverish, so we’re like, ‘We just want to make sure everything’s OK,'” said a woman waiting in line.
Many of those in line at Tropical Park said they waited around two hours to get tested.
“I come in, in the morning, at 7 [a.m.] and the time is 9:24 [a.m.]. Two hours and 24 minutes,” said Washington Palomino, who got tested at the site.
The Miami Dade College North Campus testing site also had a busy night.
“[The line is] down the block like to the other side of the campus,” said a woman waiting in line.
“We want to continue to ensure that testing is as accessible as possible to our community,” said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
With sites across Miami-Dade seeing record numbers within the last week, Levine Cava announced expanded hours at sites and additional locations across the county.
“We’re very concerned about people having to wait long hours. It’s not acceptable,” she said.
Broward County sites are also busy.
For those wanting to avoid the lines with at-home testing kits, finding them has been a challenge.
Several pharmacies are out of stock or limiting the amount available per customer to purchase.
The CEO of E-Med, a Miami-based company, said they still have plenty of at-home tests that can be ordered online.
“Early on in the pandemic, we made sure that we procured a supply of testing,” she said.
Monoclonal antibody sites are also seeing an increase in patients, causing a shortage in supplies.
Levine Cava said she reached out to the state department and the White House to request more.
Miami-Dade will distribute COVID-19 Take Home Rapid Test Kits at five Miami-Dade Public Library Locations on Friday while supplies last. For a list of locations, click here.
For a list of COVID-19 testing sites in Miami-Dade County, click here. To find vaccination sites, click here.
Testing sites are set to close at 3 p.m. on Friday, for the holiday.
The Tropical Park testing site will be the only site open on Dec. 25, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
For a list of COVID-19 testing sites in Broward County, click here. To find vaccination sites, click here. They will all be closed Friday and Saturday for Christmas as well as New Year’s Eve and Day.
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