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Florida Surgeon General Wants More Pediatric Coronavirus Testing

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – Florida's surgeon general wants to see more pediatric testing for the coronavirus.

"This will become especially important as children start potentially going back to school and other types of activities," Rivkees told hospital officials Monday. "We need to make sure that we have as much testing available for pediatric patients as we have for adult patients."

During the weekly call, Rivkees added that he wants an increase in hospital-level testing.

"At this point, we are now several months into this, each hospital should really have capability to have in-house testing ability for COVID-19," Rivkees told hospital officials Monday.

More testing at the hospital level is necessary, he said, as many surgeries and medical procedures are again being offered after being shut down earlier in the pandemic.

It also is necessary, given the state's mandate that hospitals test long-term care residents before returning them to nursing facilities.

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(©2020 CBS Local Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.)

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