At Home Coronavirus Testing For Homebound Miami Seniors 65+ Showing Symptoms
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The City of Miami is launching a new home testing service for homebound seniors 65 and older showing signs of the coronavirus who are unable to drive or arrange transportation.
Those seniors who are experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19, or who believe they may have been exposed to the virus, should call the city's testing call center at 305-960-5050 to determine if they qualify for a no-out-of-pocket cost, in-home test.
"Our seniors are at especially high risk in terms of the COVID-19 coronavirus, so we're prioritizing them in our emergency response efforts," said Miami City Manager Arthur Noriega said in a statement. "We're optimistic that we will be able to help more of our senior residents by serving them where they live, and I applaud our Department of Fire-Rescue for building this program so quickly and under difficult circumstances."
Trained call takers will interview homebound seniors and, depending on their responses, will schedule Miami Fire-Rescue paramedics to make a home visit to administer the COVID-19 test. Test kits will then be sent away to a lab for analysis, with results provided within two to four days.
The new home visit program will initially operate between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily.
