Lack of demand for COVID-19 testing leads to state closing Home Depot site in Bradenton
The state-run coronavirus testing site at the Home Depot store in Bradenton will close permanently on Friday because of a lack of demand for testing.
The site located at 2350 Cortez Road W., is closing because of a lack of demand, state emergency officials told county emergency officials. The Manatee County Department of Public Safety notified the public on social media earlier this week, but there were no signs at the site indicating it was about to close.
At one point, the site was averaging about 150 to 200 tests a day, according to nurses at the site. Recently, that had dropped to about 80 to 100 days on weekdays, they said.
The site averaged 68 tests per day in the past two weeks, according to FDEM Director of Communications Jason Mahon.
“Retail testing sites were set up as temporary sites to assist with reopening businesses,” Mahon said. “These sites remained open through the surge. The division is now reallocating resources based on the number of people coming to get tested. The state continues to provide widespread, accessible testing statewide, and sites in the Manatee County/Sarasota County area continue to have the ability to meet demand.”
Residents can still get free coronavirus testing at state-run testing sites at Lincoln Park in Palmetto and near the Mall at University Town Center.
On Thursday morning there was no line as there had been at points earlier in the summer, but people were still coming to be tested.
The site was one of three locations around the state opened in early June as part of a collaboration between the Florida Department of Emergency Management, Home Depot and Quest Diagnostics. On Tuesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state would cease using Quest after the lab released a backlog of some 75,000 test results in one day. Some of the tests were from as far back as April.
Dawn Thompson, 71, just returned home to Bradenton on Wednesday evening after getting stuck in her native Australia because of COVID-19 lockdowns. She went to be tested at the Home Depot location on Thursday but was not told the site would be shutting down.
“My gosh, America is like the worse in the world for corona,” Thompson said.
Thompson had arrived in Australia on March 2 for a family reunion when the pandemic hit.
“I was fine until I got back to America,” Thompson said.
Thompson said there were great precautions taken on her United Airlines flight from Australia to California. She was horrified at the experience on her two connecting American Airlines flights from California to Dallas and then from Dallas to Tampa.
“Both full. It’s really a joke. They say social distancing but getting on the plane you’re all standing next to one another, you’re sitting next to one another,” Thompson said. “I got here last night at 6 and I didn’t like anyone touching me on the plane, sitting next to people on the plane, everybody coughing.”
Thursday morning she woke up with a sore throat.
Thompson already had concerns having coming back, but she really wants to be able to see her grandchildren. Those concerns were made worse by the news of the Home Depot testing site closing. In Australia, where cases are minimal, Thompson said getting tested was easy.
This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 4:24 PM.
