NORTH MIAMI (Le Floridien) — The site of Holy Family Catholic Church in North Miami has been transformed as the first walk-up COVID-19 testing site in Miami-Dade County. Early Monday afternoon (April 27), many local authorities, including Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez, District 2 Commissioner Jean Monestime, Chairwoman Audrey M. Edmonson, and Florida State Representative Dotie Joseph (District 108) gathered at the site for a luncheon.
The goal at the first -and so far only- walk-up site in Miami-Dade County is to expand accessibility to underserved communities as the need grows to be tested. It is primarily for people who may not have a car, or who have been otherwise unable to visit one of the state’s drive-thru testing centers.
Anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus can now get tested. However, in order to get tested at this new site, you must call for an appointment.
There is no out-of-pocket expense, whether you have insurance or not. When you arrived at the site, you are handed a questionnaire and move through a quick check-in process. Later, medical staff is on hand to take vitals and prepare to test for COVID-19; a process that only takes a couple of minutes.
“On behalf of you, the people of District 2, and all the surrounding communities, we want to say thank you to the Mayor, the Chair, the State Representative, the National Guard, especially to Father Fritzner Bellonce from Holy Family Catholic Church for allowing us to use this site on behalf of the people of Miami-Dade County,” said Miami-Dade Commissioner Jean Monestime, District 2.
“I want to echo a thank you to Commissioner Monestime,” said Mayor Carlos Gimenez in a brief statement. “The supports that county commissioners have given us are outstanding. I want to thank the Florida National Guard, too, for helping us to open this up. I also want to thank our state partner Representative Dotie Joseph and Deputy Mayor Maurice Kemp who did a tremendous job to get this Florida Department of Health site up and running.”
“This is the first testing site in Miami-Dade County that allows people who do not have access to a vehicle to come and get tested. A second thing this particular site does, it is shown that the needs of the Haitian community is acknowledged and being addressed, even though this is not a site for only members of the Haitian community,” said Florida Representative for District-108 Dotie Joseph, who also took time to acknowledge some Haitian-American local elected officials, such as North Miami Councilwoman Mary Estimé-Irvin, District 3, North Miami City Clerk Vanessa Joseph, and North Miami Beach Commissioner Michael Joseph.
“I have advocated and sought out many options to provide COVID-19 testing in North Miami. With the help of State Representative Dotie Joseph and County Commissioner Jean Monestime, I’m pleased that this vision is now a reality. North Miami residents should not be faced with the difficulty of traveling such long distances to the nearest COVID-19 testing sites. Our community needs the convenience of testing locations close to home. I am pleased to see this walk-up site located at Holy Family Catholic Church in North Miami District 3 provided as an option. Communities of color, such as ours, have been disproportionately affected nationwide. I am confident that this addition will bring a positive outcome,” said North Miami Councilwoman Mary Estimé-Irvin, representing District 3, where the new site is located.
The walk-up testing site at Holy Family Catholic Church on 14500 NE 11th Avenue can test 150 people per day and is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
According to Maj. Jesse Manzano, of the Florida Army National Guard, it is expected to have over 30 or 40 soldiers at any given time providing support to the county, including swabbers and other logistical support to make this facility run efficiently and smoothly.
The Florida National Guard and the Florida Department of Health are partnering with the county for the site. Miami-Dade County wants to add more walk-up testing sites in the near future for residents who do not have cars or a way to get to many of the other locations.
The call center [305.499-8767] opens daily at 9 a.m. and remains open until all appointment slots for the next day are filled. Appointments can be made up to three days in advance.
LF/Dessalines Ferdinand