SARASOTA (WSNN) – The nation is seeing a rise in COVID cases, which means more people are getting tested. One Suncoast testing site is feeling the demand as we see bumper-to-bumper traffic once again.
Dozens of cars are lined up here at the Sarasota Kennel Club to get a COVID-19 test. But some didn’t realize they would have to be waiting for more than three hours to get it.
When I asked Kristen Crawford of Sarasota how long she’d been at the site. She said, “Since 1:30. What time is it now? 1:10 so yea (chuckling).”
“I’ve been here since 10-o-clock,” Sarasota County Resident Brent Blum said. “A couple of minutes away from three hours. Pulled into this spot right here, turned off my car and I haven’t turned it on since.”
Nomi Health has been working with the state to deliver COVID-19 tests and vaccines in Sarasota County. On Monday, the site saw some major delays. The General Manager for Florida, Ron Goncalves, told SNN in a statement:
“The Sarasota COVID-testing site experienced a weather delay today on account of possible lightning, contributing to long lines at the site. This, together with the uptick in testing, has made the site busier than usual.”
“We were just coming as a precaution, so I’m kind of regretting that decision,” Crawford said.
“I was supposed to be at work today,” Blum said.
The CDC reports there are about 900 new COVID-19 cases in Sarasota County this past week. And this Nomi Health site has completed more than 11,000 tests this month, with about a 75-percent uptick in testing this week. Some felt this demand, firsthand.
“The day’s been crazy. I’m tired, thirsty, hungry, hot, no AC,” Blum said. “I’m just hoping to get up here sooner or later and get on my way.”
“If we can get the car out, I would leave, and just set up an appointment someplace,” Crawford said. “But we’re kind of stuck right in that middle area, so we can’t get out.”
After three hours, many cars started making their way out of the lot. Reporting in Sarasota County, AG…
Starting tomorrow, the Sarasota Memorial Hospital is tightening its visitation restrictions, including shortening visiting hours and scaling back the number of people who can enter the hospital due to a rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in the hospital and community.
