PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – With holiday season travel ahead and the spread of the omicron variant, the demand for coronavirus testing increased on Monday in both Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
There was a long line at C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines. Even though the testing center closed at 5 p.m., a center worker was turning drivers away at 4 p.m. Those who made it inside the park faced a wait of two hours or more.
There was a similar situation in Miami-Dade’s Olympia Heights neighborhood. Cars line up on Bird Road to get to the drive-through testing center at Tropical Park.
The U.S. continues to require that all air passengers ages 2 or older, regardless of citizenship or vaccination status, provide a negative result of a COVID-19 viral test before they board an international flight to the U.S., according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For more information about testing locations in South Florida, visit this page.
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More about omicron
Since it is more contagious than delta, epidemiologists expect omicron to become the dominant variant by early next year in the U.S. Researchers at the University of Miami Health lab reported it already makes up for the majority of the cases in Miami-Dade County.
There is plenty of uncertainty since it is unclear if omicron causes a more severe disease than delta. Scientists do know unvaccinated Americans face a higher risk. Research shows the Moderna and Pfizer booster shot offers protection against omicron.
Related story: While COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are rising in South Florida, ICU populations are not