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MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighters have begun a program allowing seniors and people with disabilities who cannot make it to a test site to be tested for the coronavirus inside their homes.
In a video provided by MDFR, an elderly bed-bound woman could be seen being swabbed for COVID-19 on Tuesday.
“To me, this is a passion,” Miami-Dade Fire Rescue spokesperson Axel DeCamillus said. “It feels great helping individuals who cannot go and get testing.”
In Florida, around 210,000 COVID-19 tests have been administered since the pandemic’s start, according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The process begins inside Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s headquarters. After roll call is taken and the team is briefed, personal protective equipment is lined up and organized. When firefighters answer a house call, the crews will be protected from head to toe.
“Face shields, N95s, eye protection, double gloves,” DeCamillus said.
A crew drives to the home where an appointment is set and then put on their gear.
Once the front door is opened, it takes seconds to swab and grab a sample. That sample is then put on ice to preserve it during the drive to a lab.
Miami-Dade seniors and the disabled who cannot drive or get to a test site can schedule an at-home test if they’re symptomatic or have been in contact with a COVID-19 positive person.
“So as the sites are open and we continue to do that testing, we will continue to do the homebound testing as well,” Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Chief Alan Cominsky said.
Meanwhile, at some drive-thru sites across South Florida, some people continue to wait for up to hours at a time.
At the Hard Rock Stadium site, the line began forming at 4 a.m.
“Make sure you have a full tank of gas,” Florida Association of Public Information Officers spokesperson Mike Jachles said. “Make sure you have whatever you need and be prepared for a long wait.”
Tuesday was the second day testing was open to all ages for those with symptoms. It’s also the second day the site reached capacity in less than two hours, but more testing sites are still being opened.
A total of 396 people were tested at the Miami Gardens site on Tuesday.
Testing is also underway for people living in nursing homes. DeSantis said the National Guard is gathering the samples to prevent a deadly outbreak among the most fragile.
“We want to expand that as widely as we can, and it’s very, very important that we focus resources on those people who are most vulnerable to COVID-19,” DeSantis said.
As testing continues to pick up across the region, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez shared some optimistic news regarding his county’s fight against the virus.
“So far, the numbers indicate that we may not reach a surge of the size that health experts indicated was possible in their modeling,” Gimenez said. “That’s good news, but it’s not definitive. We must always be prepared for the worst, even as we start planning for better days and moving to a new normal.”
Broward Health has opened a drive-thru test center at Central Broward Park in Lauderhill. Testing at the site is only for those with a prescription and an appointment.
To schedule an appointment in Broward at that testing site, click here.
To schedule an at-home test with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, please call 305-499-8767 starting at 9 a.m.
For more information on test sites in South Florida, click here.
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