On Monday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that members of the Florida National Guard are going to be sent to long-term care across the state to expand testing for coronavirus.
DeSantis said that four-member National Guard strike teams were being sent to long-term care facilities which have seen high numbers of coronavirus cases.
“I am directing the Florida National Guard to create more strike teams to significantly ramp up testing in long-term care facilities,” DeSantis said on Monday.
In the meantime, the National Guard continues its other activities responding to the pandemic.
“The Florida National Guard has 2,283 Guardsmen on State Active Duty in support of Florida’s COVID-19 response, and are operating eight Community Based Testing Sites (CBTS) and have administered 39,267 sample collections to date at those sites,” the Florida National Guard announced on Monday.
“The C.B. Smith Park CBTS in Broward County has administered 11,432 sample collections since operations began there. The Hard Rock Stadium CBTS in Miami-Dade County has administered 11,641 sample collections since operations began there. The Marlins Park CBTS in Miami-Dade County has administered 3,999 sample collections since operations began there. Orange County Convention Center in Orange County has administered 4,975 sample collections since operations began there. The West Palm Beach Fit Stadium Site in Palm Beach County has administered 4,760 sample collections since operations began there.The Amelia Earhart Park/Hialeah Site in Miami-Dade County has administered 1,432 sample collections since operations began there. The Delray Beach Site in Palm Beach County has administered 992 sample collections since operations began there. The TIAA Field Site in Duval County has administered 36 sample collections since operations began there,” the Florida National Guard continued.
“Additionally, the FLNG has deployed Mobile Testing Teams to carry out COVID-19 testing at assisted living communities. To date, we have performed testing at seven locations, and collected a total of 699 samples,” the Florida National Guard added.
