Miami opens new COVID-19 testing sites, expands hours at zoo location

Miami will open two new COVID-19 testing sites and shift its testing location at the local zoo to 24 hours a day amid rising cases nationwide. 

The new testing locations include sites at Youth Fairgrounds at Tamiami Park and at Dolphin Station Park & Ride, a press release from the office of the mayor said.  

“We are working around the clock to make sure Miami-Dade residents have access to testing to protect themselves and their loved ones during the holiday season,” county Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in the release. 

“Our residents are doing the right thing by getting tested if they were exposed, have symptoms, or to take extra precautions during the holidays, and that’s why we are doing everything we can to expand access to testing countywide,” Cava added.

The mayor also said that the county had “distributed 152,000 take home rapid test kits to respond to the increased demand for testing.”

Ninety-two percent of people in Miami-Dade are vaccinated, but Florida’s most populated county saw 52,428 coronavirus cases between Dec. 17 and Dec. 23, according to data from the state’s department of health. 

The increase in infections comes as the omicron variant now accounts for the majority of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. 

As the new variant continues its spread, experts and officials, including President Biden, have urged eligible U.S. adults to receive their COVID-19 booster shot.