State-run COVID testing sites closing by May 28. Manatee, Sarasota sites to close Saturday
State-run COVID-19 testing sites in Manatee and Sarasota counties will shut down at the end of the day Saturday as the Florida Division of Emergency Management moves to close all testing sites by the end of the month.
All state-run testing sites will close by May 28.
“We are concerned. We found out in the last 24 hours that the testing center is closing this week,” Dr. Jennifer Bencie, health officer for the Florida Department of Health Manatee County told county commissioners during a board meeting Tuesday. “By the end of month, there will be no testing sites through the state available.”
The three state-run testing sites in Manatee and Sarasota are located at:
- Bradenton Area Convention Center, 1 Haben Blvd, Palmetto.
- Sarasota Kennel Club, 5400 Bradenton Road, Sarasota.
- Robert L. Taylor Community Complex, 1845 34th St., Sarasota.
Demand for testing has declined in the past several months as vaccines became widely available. But fewer than 44% of Manatee County residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday morning, according to the state health department’s daily vaccine reports.
There were also 103 new coronavirus infections reported in Manatee County on Tuesday.
Testing will still be available at retail pharmacies, doctor’s offices, MCR Health and through local health department offices, but that capacity is limited.
“We still do 800 to 1,000 a day at the convention center, and we are seeing way over 10% positivity rates on the rapid tests still,” Bencie added.
The county has seen 183 cases of five different variants of the coronavirus locally, according to Bencie.
This story was originally published May 11, 2021 at 7:29 PM.
