The COVID-19 testing site at Florida A&M University's Bragg Memorial Stadium will be extending appointment and walk-up services to May 14. Those had initially been set to stop May 8.
"It has really been eye-opening [for] us from the standpoint of the magnitude of interest and the need in our site," says Director of the FAMU Public Health Institute Cynthia Hughes Harris.
She is one of the organizers for FAMU's COVID-19 test site. She says people who come are primarily Tallahassee residents, but some come from nearby states:
"South Georgia is an area in which we get some individuals. We had a couple of people even as far away as Atlanta."
Hughes Harris says the accessibility of FAMU's site is why so many people are coming from different places. To get tested, people don't need a physician's referral. It's also free. Hughes Harris says 290 people showed up yesterday to get tested:
"Depending on the volume and continued interest, we can extend beyond [May 14]. So we will be looking at it on a weekly basis."
When the testing site first opened, there were only enough resources to test 200 people max daily, now that's expanded to 300. Hughes Harris says FAMU is considering testing students when they return.
"We definitely do have the ability, and this is what it has shown us this opportunity to work with the community whether or not it will be the exact layout is still to be determined, but what we are comfortable with is that we have the capability and ability to do something like that," Hughes Harris says.
