Line moving again at Neptune Beach COVID testing center after temporary closure

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A time aft having to adjacent 2 hours aboriginal due to the fact that it reached capableness for the fig of tests it could administer, the COVID-19 investigating tract astatine the erstwhile Kmart successful Neptune Beach announced Tuesday greeting that it was temporarily closing its enactment for information concerns.

Because of the precocious demand, the enactment had stretched astir the gathering and onto Atlantic Boulevard, causing postulation hazards and forcing Telescope Health, which is doling retired much than 325 PCR and accelerated tests astatine the site, to crook immoderate away.

A fewer hours later, drivers were again capable to determination done the enactment without waiting. Telescope Health is moving with the constabulary section to marque definite the enactment ne'er extends retired onto Atlantic Boulevard.

The holidays and omicron variant are causing a spike successful COVID-19 investigating and cases crossed Northeast Florida.

The main operating serviceman of Telescope Health said conscionable past week, the workers had been investigating astir 40-50 radical a day. Now, they’re investigating astir 300. So with that, they’re moving to adhd to their unit to support up with the demands. With the surge successful COVID-19 cases, helium said this is simply a enactment successful progress.

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“I deliberation 1 of the large factors is that we’re the lone tract that is unfastened this aboriginal and tin grip this capableness and truthful arsenic the time goes on, what we’ve seen historically successful the past twelvemonth is that this becomes a overmuch smoother process passim the day. And arsenic we adhd much staff, hopefully, we tin get everybody successful who wants to come,” said Dr. Matt Thompson, COO of Telescope Health.

Many investigating sites reopened Monday aft closing down for respective days due to the fact that of the Christmas holiday. The Neptune Beach tract had a agelong enactment earlier 7 a.m. Monday, and by 1 p.m., it reached capacity.

News4JAX visited the city-run Emmett Reed, Lane Wiley and Cuba Hunter assemblage centers connected Monday. All were engaged with a surge successful request for COVID-19 investigating crossed the area. More details astir capacities and pre-registration are disposable astatine JaxReady.com.

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LIST: COVID-19 investigating sites successful Northeast Florida

Florida reported 39,000 COVID-19 cases connected Monday, representing the Christmas vacation weekend. That’s 21,040 cases Saturday and 17,955 Sunday.

A large power from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevnetion present means radical who’ve tested affirmative for COVID-19 won’t person to hold agelong to get backmost to their lives.

It’s present recommending a five-day isolation play alternatively of 10, for anyone WITHOUT symptoms. The timepiece starts the time you trial positive. After 5 days, you tin instrumentality to mean arsenic agelong arsenic you deterioration a disguise astir others for different 5 days.

Dr. Jonathan Kantor from the Penn Center for Global Health stressed the value of isolating.

“You know, if you are idiosyncratic who is surviving successful a compartment successful the woods by yourself, and you don’t spot anyone, past you could reason that getting tested truly doesn’t substance each that much. But for astir of america who are retired determination interacting with people, whether it’s household members, whether it’s coworkers, whether it’s the radical successful the supermarket, it’s precise adjuvant to cognize due to the fact that if you cognize you’ve got COVID, hopefully, you’re going to bash the close thing,” Kantor said.

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With agelong lines astatine those government-run sites, galore radical are opting to spell the backstage investigating route. That includes pharmacies, doctor’s offices and urgent attraction centers similar Avecina Medical. Doctors determination said astir people’s security covers the tests, truthful they don’t person to wage retired of pocket.

However, getting an assignment tin instrumentality patience.

“It takes little interaction, little magnitude of microorganism to get individuals sick,” said Doctor Saman Soleymani, co-founder of Avecina Medical.

He said his company’s unit is seeing grounds numbers astatine their six clinics successful Duval, St. Johns and Clay counties. On Monday, helium said, much than 4 retired of 10 radical who instrumentality COVID-19 tests are positive, showing that the omicron variant is highly contagious.

“We cognize that vaccination isn’t 100% palmy preventing you from catching the microorganism oregon passing it along,” Soleymani said. “So the champion happening to bash is to test, truthful if you trial idiosyncratic and place them early, past those individuals tin region themselves from the population.”

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He besides said he’s seeing cases of reinfection, wherever radical who’ve recovered from the coronavirus are getting it again. However, helium noted with his patients, deaths and superior illnesses are low.

The bully quality is aboriginal probe suggests omicron whitethorn origin milder illnesses than past strains, similar the archetypal procreation and the delta variant. Kantor said he’s seen the omicron variant contiguous itself with mild symptoms similar those of a cold.

“There are a mates of things that are feeding into the mildness of the symptoms of omicron. Right, there’s 1 factor, which is perchance that the microorganism itself, for a batch of people, whitethorn pb to much mild symptoms,” Kantor said. “The different is that truthful galore radical person either been vaccinated oregon been infected successful the past that these are each breakthrough infections, and typically breakthrough infections, successful general, are going to beryllium milder.”

Soleymani said radical request to beryllium other cautious to not dispersed the coronavirus. They should isolate astatine the archetypal motion of symptoms and docket a trial arsenic soon arsenic possible. He said that volition chopped down connected assemblage spread.

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“I consciousness similar this is going to beryllium conscionable similar past year,” Soleymani noted. “Holidays, radical getting together, New Year’s — there’s ever immoderate lag, and those radical that are getting infected are going to walk it on to different people.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, manager of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, applauded the CDC’s caller isolation guidelines. But besides said the U.S. should see a vaccination request for getting connected home flights.

He does NOT spot that happening successful the adjacent future.

“Right now, I don’t deliberation radical should expect that we are gonna person a request successful home flights for radical to beryllium vaccinated. When I was asked that question, I gave an honest, honorable answer. It’s connected the array and we see it, but that doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen,” Fauci said.

Masks are inactive required connected each flights. The investigating tract astatine Neptune Beach is unfastened done 3 p.m. unless it reaches afloat capacity.

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