Jacksonville’s first drive-thru COVID-19 testing site will shut down starting Friday

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The first drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Jacksonville will shut down starting Friday.

The Ascension Medical Group St. Vincent’s is ending the drive-thru testing option at the Southside location.

But you can still schedule an appointment to get a test inside.

A spokesperson for the hospital sent this statement to Action News Jax on Thursday. The statement reads:

“Ascension Medical Group St. Vincent’s has conducted nearly 13,000 drive-thru tests since becoming the first drive-thru COVID-19 testing site to open in Jacksonville on March 17.”Fortunately, as the community has seen lower COVID-19 positivity rates, we’ve also seen significantly fewer people requiring our drive-thru testing services."Given this, our drive-thru testing sites will close after providing services on Friday, September 25. COVID-19 testing will then be available at our Ascension St. Vincent’s urgent care offices, all in convenient locations throughout Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia."

To schedule an in-person or virtual appointment with an Ascension Medical Group provider, visit www.getjaxhealthcare.com.

According to the Department of Health, the trend for people getting tested has been trending downward.

Action News Jax medical expert Michelle Aquino said the city of Jacksonville is moving in a positive direction as far as local COVID-19 cases are concerned.

“The amount of people getting tested, and the percent positive is that number where we want to really focus on. So that’s good. Our number is going down,” Aquino said.

According to the Department of Health, the COVID-19 positivity rate has been below 5% for over a week.

Agape Family Health and the city of Jacksonville have also partnered up to offer nasal swab testing through 2020.

Regency Mall’s walk-up testing site is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“COVID-19 has been terrible. I’m happy though that the Jaguars in the stadium, obviously to come. I think you should definitely get tested because you don’t want to spread it around because a lot of people you don’t even know you can be asymptomatic,” Brown said.

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