Florida-run COVID testing sites closing at the end of May. Where can you go next?
All state-run testing sites in Florida will close by the end of May — including the sites at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines.
The sites will close by May 28, according to the schedule posted on the Florida Division of Emergency Management website. State-run testing sites in Manatee and Sarasota counties have already shut down.
Among the reasons why the test sites are closing: The division is shifting its resources to focus on vaccinations and to prepare for hurricane season, said Mike Jachles, the chairman of the Florida Association of Public Information Officers. He has helped the state with some of its testing and vaccination operations at Hard Rock Stadium and Miami Dade College North campus.
As for the four federally supported vaccination sites in Florida set to shut down after May 25, at least one of them will continue offering vaccines. The FEMA site at MDC North will be under new management as Miami-Dade County takes over on May 26.
There’s no word yet whether Florida’s other FEMA sites in Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville will also move to local control.
When will state-run testing sites in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach close?
According to the Florida Division of Emergency Management’s website, the last day of testing at state-run sites in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties are:
▪ loanDepot park (formerly Marlins Park) in Little Havana and Town Center at Boca Raton — Friday, May 21
▪ Amelia Earhart Park in Hialeah, Sherbondy Park in Opa-locka, Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, and Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach — Saturday, May 22
▪ Mitchell Moore Park in Pompano Beach — Tuesday, May 25
▪ Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens and C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines — Friday, May 28
▪ The state-run test sites at Lauderhill Sports Park and Manuel Artime Theater have already closed.
Where will people get a COVID test?
Testing will still be available at other locations, including select retail pharmacies, community health centers and urgent care centers, according to the division’s website. Both Miami-Dade and Broward counties have online COVID-19 testing site locators that can help find nearby sites.
COVID cases and vaccinations in Florida
Florida has recorded more than 2.3 million cases and more than 37,000 deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020. Reports of new cases in the United States are at their lowest levels since June, and deaths are at their lowest since July, according to the New York Times COVID-19 dashboard. Reports of new cases in Florida are also seeing a decrease.
So far, more than 7.7 million people in Florida have completed the two-dose series of Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna or Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine, according to Wednesday’s vaccine report.
About 36% of Florida’s total population is fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC’s data is based on all residents in the state — including children under 12 who are not eligible to be vaccinated yet.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated to reflect new information.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
