JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The city of Jacksonville announced it will open three additional COVID-19 testing sites and the Health Department of Duval County will add two more sites to address increase free testing capacity across the region.
City Council voted Tuesday night to use $4 million of federal relief funds to pay for the testing. Agape Family Health and Telescope Health, which have previously managed testing sites for the city of Jacksonville, will operate the three facilities.
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“As we continue to respond to COVID-19 in Jacksonville, it is important that citizens throughout our community have access to testing,” City Council President Sam Newby said. “I am grateful to Mayor (Lenny) Curry and his administration for their leadership in making this testing available and accessible to everyone in Jacksonville.”
Locations will include:
- Lane Wiley Senior Center, 6710 Wiley Road – 32210
- Clanzel T. Brown Community Center, 4545 Moncrief Road – 32209
- Beaches location, 540 Atlantic Blvd. (former Kmart shopping center) – 32266
“Things have been getting worse every single week,” said Agape CEO Mia Jones. “We will probably end up testing more than 4,000 people before the month is over”
Plans for two more locations to be operated by the Department of Health will be located at the following Community Centers:
- Emmett Reed Community Center, 1093 W. 6th Street – 32209
- Cuba Hunter Community Center, 4380 Bedford Road – 32207
Curry is hopeful that at least some of the additional sites could open within days.
“We are at five locations,” Curry said Tuesday. “If you have insurance, just submit an insurance card, and if you don’t, it’s free.”