JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — (The video above is part of a previous report on August 4)
As COVID-19 surges on the First Coast, it's become increasingly difficult for those exposed or ill to find and schedule a free rapid test.
For the last few weeks, the Duval County Health Department's COVID-19 testing site downtown has been overwhelmed with people needing tests, with lines hundreds of people long.
At local pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS, which had dozens of daily COVID-19 testing appointments available months back, are either booking multiple days in advance or not at all.
But there could be additional testing sites on the way.
First Coast News reached out to the Mayor's Office on Monday to see if he planned to expand local testing capacity.
A spokesperson said, "The City of Jacksonville is currently working on an announcement about new COVID-19 testing sites and will release the information as soon as we can."
Last week, Jacksonville City Councilman Garrett Dennis filed an emergency request asking for $5 million to be budgeted to create three additional COVID-19 testing sites at the Shoppes at Sherwood, Lane Wiley Center, and College Park Center.
“As a community, we must make testing not only widely available but also convenient with accessibility to public transportation. Identifying those infected will obviously prevent the continuous spread by requiring immediate quarantine.” Dennis said.
The $5 million dollars would come from the city’s general fund and keep the sites up and running for two months, according to the District 9 City Councilmember.
“It's time for us to put our money where our mouth is. The City of Jacksonville, we have a lot of money in our reserves – $200 million," Dennis said last week. "And this is just a small fraction of the people's money to put back and give back to the people of Jacksonville.“
After the emergency request was filed, Jordan Elsbury, Chief of Staff for Mayor Curry's Office, sent this response:
“Mayor Curry and our administration have been working tirelessly over the past week with Council Members, the Florida Department of Health and local healthcare providers to identify several locations for COVID-19 testing throughout Duval County. Details are being finalized and a formal announcement will be made soon. We hope to have these testing locations available for citizens in the coming weeks.”