State-run COVID-19 testing sites to close ahead of Tropical Storm Isaias
All state-run COVID-19 testing sites in Florida will shut down at end of the day Thursday ahead ahead of Tropical Storm Isaias.
In preparation for the storm, the Florida Department of Emergency Management will close all state-run COVID-19 testing sites at the end of business day Thursday. Those include the testing sites at the Home Depot in Bradenton, Lincoln Park in Palmetto and near The Mall at University Town Center in Sarasota.
“They will schedule to reopen Tuesday providing the areas that they are in are habitable and able to reopen,” Manatee County Director of Public Safety Jacob Saur told the Bradenton Herald. “Some test sites could be flooded or be damaged from wind. Each test site will have to evaluate after the storm.”
Anyone needing to get tested for the coronavirus is urged to do so Thursday at one of the state-run sites, contact their doctor or visit a Manatee County Rural Health location.
Emergency managers across the state have been preparing for months to shift gears from COVID-19 to deal with a tropical storm or hurricane should the need arise. Emergency Operations Centers are already activated to deal with the coronavirus.
“I really do feel comfortable with our abilities to manage this storm,” Saur said. “Emergency management and ESF (Emergency Support Functions) leads have been running full force for 135 days.”
Manatee County, along with most of the Florida peninsula, is currently within the National Hurricane Center’s five-day cone of uncertainty. While a lot of uncertainty remains with the track and intensity of the storm, officials are advising residents to prepare for the possibility of high winds, rain, and flooding or storm surge as early as sometime this weekend.
At 1 p.m. Thursday , Saur and his public safety and emergency management staff will update the Manatee County Board of Commissioners on the status of the storm.
Anyone in an evacuation zone that doesn’t have a plan in place, should do so immediately. Capacity at shelters will be limited this year because of the social distancing requirements posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“A shelter is definitely the last place you want to be this year,” Saur said.
This story was originally published July 29, 2020 at 4:17 PM.
