JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – New testing sites in Duval and St. Johns counties are making it easier to check if you’ve been infected with the virus, providing relief for existing and overwhelmed sites across the region.
In Duval County, two of five new testing sites opened Monday: the Clanzel T. Brown Community Center in the Moncrief neighborhood and the former Kmart Shopping Center located in Neptune Beach. No appointment is required for testing at either site, which is free of charge.
News4Jax visited those two testing sites Monday. In Neptune Beach, where rapid testing is available, doctors estimated that one in five of those waiting in line would test positive for COVID-19.
“When they come in, we look them up, we find their information, we verify it, they get swabbed, they leave,” said Dr. Matthew Thompson with Telescope Health. “It’s a quick process.”
Dr. Thompson, who also works in Baptist Health’s emergency rooms, said expanded testing is necessary. Even as a physician, he said, he found it hard to get tested because there are so few appointments available.
“People have been coming to the ER to get a test and they’re waiting for hours in line,” Thompson said.
Organizers at the Neptune Beach site said 200 people stopped by the drive-through site Monday before the site reached capacity and severe weather rolling through the area forced it to close early.
The Lane Wiley Senior Center will open for testing on Wednesday. Tests will also be available at the Emmett Reed Community Center and the Cuba Hunter Community Center starting on Thursday. As with the other sites, there will be no appointment required for testing.
In St. Johns County, the new sites include the Visitor Information Center in St. Augustine as well as the St. Johns County Agricultural Center.
The arrival of new testing facilities comes as parts of Northeast Florida grapple with a significant increase in cases and hospitalizations.
In the last week, 6358 new cases were reported in Duval County, bringing the county’s total to 138,903 cases. St. Johns County added 1,503 cases in the last week, bringing its total to 31,195.
Mia Jones is the chief executive officer of Agape Health, a nonprofit clinic that is operating two of the new testing sites in Duval County. She said things have been getting worse every week.
“We will probably end up testing more than 4,000 people before the month is over,” Jones said.
Below is a guide to the new testing sites, including hours and other details:
Duval County
Clanzel T. Brown Community Center
- Address: 4545 Moncrief Rd., Jacksonville, 32209
- Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
- Vaccine: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday
- Notes: No appointment required, port-a-potties on site
Lane Wiley Senior Center
- Address: 6710 Wiley Rd., Jacksonville, 32210
- Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
- Vaccine: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Sunday
- Notes: No appointment required, port-a-potties on site
Emmett Reed Community Center
- Address: 1093 W. 6th St., Jacksonville, 32209
- Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
- Vaccine: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
- Notes: No appointment required
Cuba Hunter Community Center
- Address: 4380 Bedford Rd., Jacksonville, 32207
- Hours: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
- Vaccine: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
- Notes: No appointment required
Former Kmart Shopping Center
- Address: 540 Atlantic Blvd., Neptune Beach, 32266
- Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday
- Vaccine: No vaccine offered
- Notes: Drive-thru; insured need insurance card, uninsured need Social Security number
St. Johns County
Visitor Information Center
- Address: 10 S. Castillo Dr., St. Augustine, 32084
- Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday
- Vaccine: None offered
- Notes: Insurance and self-pay accepted
St. Johns County Agricultural Center
- Address: 3125 Agricultural Center Dr., St. Augustine, 32092
- Hours: 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Sunday
- Vaccine: None offered
- Notes: No appointment or insurance required