Can’t leave your Miami-Dade home and need a COVID test? A hotline is now open
Miami-Dade is offering at-home COVID-19 testing appointments for people who need to get tested for the virus but are unable to leave their home.
The county’s decision to reopen its homebound testing hotline, 305-614-1716, comes as it grapples with a surge of demand for tests amid rising cases, with people sometimes waiting for hours in line to get tested.
Anyone who lives in Miami-Dade, regardless of age, and can’t leave their home, or their bed, due to a medical condition or a disability, can make an appointment if they have symptoms or were exposed to COVID-19, county spokeswoman Natalia Jaramillo said. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
People who receive “home health services,” live in a group home, adult living facility, nursing home or other “congregate care facility” will not qualify for an in-home testing appointment, the county’s website states. Instead, they (or their caretaker) should “contact their provider to request an at-home test,” the county’s website states.
People who don’t have a car, but can get to a testing site through another form of transportation, such as the bus, an Uber or Lyft, also do not qualify for the in-home testing, Jaramillo said.
In Broward County, anyone who is homebound, regardless of age, and is unable to visit a test site is asked to call 954-412-7300 to make an appointment for an in-home test, according to the Florida Department of Health in Broward County. The hotline is open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 10:49 AM.
