State-run testing previously near the Mall at UTC to reopen at new location
The coronavirus testing-site previously located near the Mall at the University Town Center is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday at a new location.
The state-run testing site will reopen at a parking lot at 100 Cattleman Road in Sarasota. It will still have the capacity to conduct up to 1,000 tests per day, according to Florida Division of Emergency Management Communications Director Jason Mahon.
The new location will be less convenient for Manatee County residents who will have to drive farther south into Sarasota to get to the site. But the site was forced to close at its original location because the mall did not renew the site’s lease.
When the testing site was initially opened at the mall location, it was intended to serve both Manatee and Sarasota counties with a daily maximum testing capacity of 1,200 people. The site has been closed since last week ahead of its relocation.
There is only one state-run testing site in Manatee County, a walk-up location at Lincoln Park in Palmetto. That site can test up to 500 people per day. On Monday, there were 31 new infections reported locally, according to the latest data from the Florida Department of Health. A total of 11,241 people in Manatee County have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began.
Earlier this month, the state-run testing site at the Home Depot store at 2350 Cortez Road W. in Bradenton closed permanently because of a lack of demand, Mahon said at the time. The site had averaged 68 tests per day in in the two weeks leading up to the closure.
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
