City of Miami Beach Announces New COVID-19 Testing Facility With Appointment Free Drive-Through and Walk-up Testing Capabilities

Sourced by City of Miami Beach

MIAMI BEACH, FL – (May 6, 2020) The ability to easily identify individuals who have contracted COVID-19 so they can quickly seek treatment and partake in immediate isolation is essential to the prevention and spread of this virus. The City of Miami Beach understands the importance of COVID-19 testing in our community and is partnering with the Florida Department of Health and Florida National Guard to open a COVID-19 testing facility at the Miami Beach Convention Center campus starting Friday, May 8, 2020.

The facility will offer both mobile and walk-up testing services daily from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., with no appointments necessary. Testing is FREE and available to anyone, 18 years or older and children accompanied by a guardian, regardless of COVID-19 symptoms.

“Testing surveillance, contact tracing and isolation are critical to the health and well-being of our community,” said Mayor Dan Gelber. “The opening of the testing facility provides more testing capacity allowing individuals to be tested even if they do not have symptoms. We need to see more progress and more slowing of the virus before we can begin implementing more measures to re-open Miami Beach.”

 The walk-up testing service will be within municipal parking lot P-29 located at 17 Street and Convention Center Drive, across from Miami Beach City Hall. Individuals wishing to access this site should enter at 17 Street and Convention Center Drive wearing a face covering and with photo ID readily available. Parking will not be available for walk-up testing patients.

The drive-through mobile testing service entrance is at 17 Street and Convention Center Drive. Individuals using this option are asked to remain in their vehicles with their windows up and place a photo ID on the dashboard. Everyone in the vehicle should be wearing a face covering, display a photo ID and be seated next to a working window. There is a maximum of five tests per vehicle.

This Miami Beach facility will have a capacity to test 400 patients daily, which may be adjusted based on need.

At-home testing continues to be available for homebound seniors in the City of Miami Beach. For additional information on the city’s efforts to curb COVID-19, please visit www.MiamiBeachFl.gov/coronavirus.

Source: City of Miami Beach