
After a month of operating only drive-thru testing sites for the novel coronavirus, Florida will open its first two walk-up COVID-19 testing locations on Saturday in Broward County.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Thursday that tests will be conducted at Mitchell Moore Park, 901 N.W. 10th St., Pompano Beach, and at the Urban League of Broward County, 560 NW 27th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale.
“Not everyone has access to a car,” DeSantis said. “We need to be able to reach … particularly into underserved communities.”
The walk-up sites, which will be operated with the assistance of the National Guard and Broward Sheriff’s Office, will each serve 200 residents per day.
The governor added that anyone with symptoms can either walk to the testing sites or call for an appointment, (954) 412-7300.
“We hope the response is good,” DeSantis said.
As of Thursday morning, the state reported that 220,892 people have been tested for the novel coronavirus.
In addition, there have been 28,726 tests in Broward, and 3,459 people or 12.1 percent have been diagnosed with infections, records show.
Worldwide, there are over 2.1 million cases and 142,148 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center.