Coronavirus Update: Hard Rock Stadium Drive-Through Site To Expand Testing Criteria
JACKSONVILLE (CBSMiami) – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is making a big change at the three major coronavirus testing sites in the state, by allowing just about everyone, regardless of age, occupation or symptoms to get tested.
"Starting this Monday, at the site here in Jacksonville, the Orange County Convention Center and at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Dade, anybody that has coronavirus symptoms, regardless of age can come and get tested. All first responders and healthcare workers can get tested and then anybody who has had close sustained contact with an individual that has recently tested positive for COVID-19 may get tested even if you personally haven't developed symptoms," said Gov. DeSantis at an afternoon news conference in Jacksonville.
"I think what we're trying to do is get a sense of people that are asymptomatic, who may be carrying the virus and maybe spreading the virus. So if you've had close sustained contact with somebody, even if you haven't developed symptoms, if that person you've had close contacts with has tested positive for COVID-19, and you want to come get tested, then you're going to be able to come in these sites."
Hospital workers have always met the criteria for testing but now any staff member at long term care facilities or nursing homes can also get tested.
The sites at the Hard Rock Stadium, Jacksonville and Orlando's Orange County Convention Center were all run with support by the federal government, but that is changing as well. Originally, they were only going to run until April 10 and then the feds were either going to turn it over to the state or let it go. The governor says he wants it to keep going.
"We want to be able to have access to testing across the state of Florida. And so we made it clear we're going to be here. We're sending support from the state of Florida. We got additional National Guard coming to be able to make sure that the people have access to a drive through testing sites. And then once we put our commitment out publicly, FEMA actually said that they can continue to also send some supplies to help out. So I think that that's been a win win. And we want to continue to do it."
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In addition, the federal contracts at these locations limited the amount of samples that could be taken daily to 250. The Governor is expanding that as well.
"We want to do more than 250 a day if the demand is there, but because it was limited, you were focusing on 65 and plus with symptoms, as well as first responders and healthcare workers. And obviously, that's the tip of the spear, the people that are out there protecting us, and then those folks who are 65 and plus, you know, they obviously are most at risk from this virus. So it made sense to do that. But I think though, we really want to expand that beyond and I think we have the capacity to do it."
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DeSantis also says the state is trying to expand access to rapid tests.
"These will be a game changer," he said explaining that there are "a couple different tests," including a 45-minute test and a five-minute test that the state is working on getting to hospitals across the state.
"We're also trying to acquire the new antibody test. There's a lot of these tests out there but it's important you get the test that's FDA approved for this particular coronavirus. This isn't the only Coronavirus that circulates so some of these tests will determine whether you have antibodies for any coronavirus, well, if you had a common cold or something that's much different than this, so we're looking at tests that are FDA approved, specifically for COVID-19 antibodies."
He says these antibody tests will "give us a sense of how much this virus has actually penetrated the community."
He cited some studies at Oxford and Stanford where "people think that this may have been way more prevalent than we thought and its possible a lot of people don't develop symptoms from it."
He says there could be a lot of people who've never even sought medical care who may have had this virus, because they just didn't develop severe symptoms, or maybe they didn't develop symptoms at all.
DeSantis also says the Division of Emergency Management has state has distributed a huge amount of supplies saying "This has probably been the biggest logistical operation in the history of the state of Florida."
The state has sent out 5.2 million masks, more than 500,000 face shields, 4.75 million gloves, and 275,000 gowns."
He is anticipating on getting from N95 masks from the federal government as well and will distribute those as soon as they arrive.
