MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – People continued to crowd COVID testing sites across South Florida, creating long lines on the last day of 2021. And others were also lining up at several locations in Broward and Miami-Dade counties hoping to get their hands on free at-home test kits.
“I think I’ve been here since 5:47 (a.m.),” Miami Gardens resident Paulette Wilson said Friday morning as she waited for a test kit.
“Your life depends on it. Some people don’t want to do it, but I’m not one of those,” another resident, Tony Jackson, added.
With store supply low, people like Jackson knew this is a good chance to get their hands on a test kit.
“There was a short supply. I knew here there was going to be tons of them. I’ve been here since 5:30 this morning,” he said.
There were long lines of cars and people at the North Dade Regional Library in Miami-Dade County and African American Research Library in Fort Lauderdale waiting for the tests.
For people hoping to get tested on New Year’s Day, there will be some sites open, although most county sites will be closed for the New Year’s holiday.
- Tropical Park, South Dade Government Center, and Miami Dade College North, will be open on Jan. 1 from 10 a.m. 4 p.m.
- The Port Miami J testing site will be open on Jan. 1 from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
[WHERE CAN I GET TESTED? Testing and vaccination sites in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties can be found by clicking here.]
The spread of the omicron variant has people taking caution on land and water.
Port Everglades Chief Executive Port Director Jonathan Daniels said he was surprised following the latest CDC guidelines, telling people to avoid cruise ship travel whether you have been vaccinated or not.
“We don’t want to see (the) CDC saying not to cruise seeing how big a part of the economy it is,” he said.
Health officials say there has been an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases among cruise ship passengers and crew.
The CDC announced the COVID-19 travel health notice level has been updated from a level 3 to level 4 — the highest level.
This reflects increases in cases onboard cruise ships since identification of the omicron variant.
Travelers boarding Royal Caribbean’s Allure of the Seas Thursday pushed back against that the warning.
“So if they are going to monitor the cruise lines this closely, they need to be monitoring everything else,” Tina Mayer said.