TALLAHASSEE, Fla.(WTXL) — Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare is taking steps to help fight coronavirus spread by opening Tallahassee's first drive-thru sample collection site for patients who have been ordered by a doctor to receive a test.
The drive-thru sample collection site will open at the Northwood Centre parking lot at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Going forward, it will be open Monday - Friday from 11 am until 6 pm.
TMH stresses that the drive-thru collection site is not a community-wide screening and testing drive-thru location. While the site is not a drive-thru testing site, it is a centralized sample collection site for patients who have been ordered by their doctor to get a COVID-19 test.
Due to a shortage of test kits, TMH says they are using their resources judiciously.
"Only those who are symptomatic and meet the criteria set forth by the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) should be tested," TMH said in a statement. Samples will only be collected from patients who have already been evaluated and have a physician order for COVID-19 testing.
"Drive-thru specimen collection is one way to mitigate the spread of the virus by allowing people to remain in their vehicles without exposing others to infection," officials said.
TMH officials say they're also telling local doctors to only order COVID-19 testing for patients who meet the criteria set by the Florida Department of Health. For more on what those requirements are, click here.
Oatients who are experiencing flu-like symptoms should call their primary care provider to determine if they should be screened for COVID-19, TMH says.
So far, no cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Leon County.
