By Steve Plunkett
Telephone reservations for drive-thru COVID-19 testing at the South County Civic Center will begin at 10 a.m. April 6 with the earliest appointment available at 8 a.m. the following day.
The reservation phone number is 561-804-0250.
After the first day the phone line will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week.
Pre-approval and appointments are required, County Commissioner Mack Bernard said while announcing the details April 5. Cleveland Clinic of Florida will screen callers for presence of symptoms, exposures and risk factors, he said.
The South County center, at 16700 Jog Road west of Delray Beach, will have 2,000 test kits available, Bernard said. The county's first coronavirus test site, at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, will have more than 1,000 kits, he said.
"This is a time to remain calm; it's not a time to panic," state Rep. Mike Caruso, R-Delray Beach, said. "If we do what the protocols and the president of the United States have indicated such as social distancing, washing our hands and sheltering in place, we can get through this."
County Commissioner Robert Weinroth said his office has been besieged by people wondering why they cannot play golf, one of the many activities not allowed now.
"Please, adhere to these executive orders. Don't try and be a lawyer and figure out how to punch a hole between the lines and figure out how you can do things. ... We don't want to be like New York."
After the South County site opens, testing will be available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday from 8 to noon.
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