WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — It was a busy afternoon Saturday as more than two dozen cars came to Gaines Park in West Palm Beach to get a COVID-19 test.
The city says no appointments are necessary for those who want to get tested at this latest COVID-19 testing site. Medical personnel will provide both antigen and PCR tests.
Ruby Mejia and her sisters are planning to go to a rock concert in St. Augustine next week. In order to attend, they needed a negative test 72 hours prior to the show so they came to the drive up testing site.
“Make sure that no one else is going to get infected because of it,” said Ruby Mejia.
“I feel like it makes sense as long as it's accessible. As long as we have the ability to go to places like this, then yea why not,” said Rachel Almonte, Ruby’s sister.
Their mother, Ruth said they don't mind jumping through a few hoops to attend music events.
“Es una seguridad para los demás. Porque nosotros tenemos la vacuna menos ella. Es seguro más para ella,” said Ruth Mejia in Spanish. She says they all are vaccinated except for her little one, and the test is more peace of mind for her.
Nearly a month into the school year, we saw a number of parents here getting their children tested because of the positive covid cases at their schools.
“We got an alert from her school that there’s a case there, so we decided to get them tested,” said Olivia Barton, a parent who came to get her student tested. “We have to wait for the results to see what happens if anybody is positive, we just have to stay home and quarantine.”
Rachel Almonte would like to see more testing sites like this.
“In the earlier stages of the whole pandemic, there used to be a lot more places but now it’s way harder to get tested. So I feel there should be a couple more. At least a couple more walk in places,” said Almonte.
City officials say the testing is free, but available insurance or Medicare/Medicaid programs will be billed to help cover the costs of testing.
City officials said the drive-thru site is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and weekends 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. No appointments are necessary for those seeking to be tested.
