MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – With COVID-19 cases continuing to rise, Miami-Dade and Broward counties are adjusting, trying to stay ahead of the spread as we head into the New Year.
Several new sites opened their doors this week for COVID-19 testing after a high demand for testing continues in both counties.
On Tuesday, Miami-Dade County said nearly one in every four tests done in the last seven days has come back positive for covid.
“We’re still a little bit up in the air exactly what this is going to look like, how is this going to peak, how sick people are going to get,” Dr. Hany Atallah, CMO of Jackson Memorial Hospital said.
As cases continue to surge, the counties are doing what they can to lighten traffic at major testing sites.
“My son went to Tropical Park and he was there for six hours,” one parent told Local 10 News on Tuesday.
Miami-Dade has extended hours at Zoo Miami, the South Dade Government Center, Tropical Park and Aventura Mall, and also opened new locations at the Youth Fairgrounds at Tamiami Park and the Dolphin Station Park and Ride.
In Broward, testing site hours are being extended and the county has requested 500,000 individual, at-home test kits, which will be handed out to residents if and when they’re delivered.
All of this comes as we are just days from celebrating the start of 2022.
Unfortunately, some things will be a bit different, like La Gran Naranja, the iconic Big Orange, that rises in Miami, which has been canceled after the team that manages the structure tested positive for COVID-19.
But, the countdown celebration at Bayfront Park is still on, as well as Fort Lauderdale’s annual anchor drop.
Click here for the latest information on vaccination and testing sites in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties.