ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — The City of St. Augustine will soon have a place for people to get tested for COVID-19.
Neither the health department nor St. Johns County currently has a testing site in the county.
On Monday evening, City Manager John P. Regan proposed a draft for a testing site in Downtown St. Augustine at the Visitor Information Center. The City Commission soon approved it unanimously.
Regan said the hospital is waiting on confirmation from contractor I & B Medical Associates to finalize their plans. That could come as early as Tuesday.
The site will offer rapid and PCR testing, depending on the patients' medical needs. People will be able to either do drive-through testing.
People must make appointments prior to being tested.
Testing will take place Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. Traffic will be split at the Visitor Center's Bus Loop between drive-through testing and buses and trolleys.
The testing site will be run in tandem with Flagler Health, who is working to set up an app for people to make their testing appointments ahead of their visit. Flagler Health is currently securing a contract with I & B Medical Associates to help with testing.
Flagler Health will work with the city and a contractor to help set up and run the testing site. The hospital is also working on an app to set up appointments. Solar Stik Autonomous Energy Solutions will also help make the site solar-powered.
The site will have a soft opening on Friday before a full launch on Monday.
According to Regan, the county is currently working on setting up its own testing site at the St. Johns County Agricultural Center some time later.