TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — After more than two months of serving the Tallahassee community, the COVID-19 drive-thru testing site located at the Northwood Centre will be closing on Friday.
According to a press release, the site's last day of operation will be Friday, May 29.
With new testing capabilities, more readily-accessible personal protective equipment , and additional testing resources in town, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and its partners have determined that Tallahassee is well-equipped to continue meeting local COVID-19 testing needs without the central sample collection site.
Health officials say TMH has and will continue to work the health department and local providers to ensure each facility has access to resources for safe and efficient testing.
The site was established in the beginning stages of Florida’s COVID-19 outbreak to provide a central location for provider-ordered COVID-19 testing and in turn alleviate stress put on emergency rooms and providers’ offices.
TMH partnered with other healthcare organizations throughout the city, as well as the City of Tallahassee, local law enforcement and first responders, to run and staff the site, which facilitated more than 4,000 COVID-19 sample collections.
Officials say patients who think they may need to be tested for COVID-19 should call their primary care provider to discuss whether testing is required.
In addition, most primary care offices are now providing testing in their offices.
There are also a number of resources in the community for patients who do not have a primary care provider and think they may need to be tested, including the Bragg Memorial Stadium COVID-19 Testing Site, Patients First, CVS, Tallahassee Memorial Transition Center, Bond Community Health Center, Capital Health Plan and Neighborhood Medical Center.
For more information about testing locations, please click here.
