3 Hillsborough Coronavirus Sites To Close Due To Lower Demand

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Some Hillsborough County coronavirus public testing sites are being closed as demand continues to decline.

The Town N' Country site at Tampa Family Health Centers, 12085 W. Hillsborough Ave., is closed effective immediately. People who had previously scheduled appointments for this site may go to any of the county's other public testing locations at their convenience without an appointment. Call 888-513-6321.

Two other testing locations also will close.

The last day for testing at Redeemer Lutheran Church, 701 Valley Forge Blvd., Sun City Center, is Wednesday, Sept. 23. And the last day for testing at the SouthShore Community Resource Center, 201 14th Ave. SE in Ruskin, will be Saturday, Sept. 26.

Hillsborough County Emergency Management Director Tim Dudley told members of the Hillsborough County Commission Thursday that the number of residents seeking tests at the county's public testing sites has decreased notably during the past few weeks, many days hovering at less than 20 percent capacity.

In addition, regular operations not related to the pandemic are ramping back up at some locations that have been used for testing sites.

Although some sites are closing, Dudley said the county will work with community partners to put together a plan to provide testing for vulnerable populations.

Dr. Douglas Holt, director of the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County, said, while Hillsborough County is not considered a coronavirus hot spot at the moment, the average number of new cases per day and positivity rates remain fairly, indicating that the virus is continuing to be transmitted to residents throughout the community.

In particular, said Holt, the number of college-age students testing positive for the coronvirus is on the rise. However, despite the reopening of schools, "we haven't seen much of an increase in our k-12 group," said Holt.

In the past 14 days, the positivity rate in the county was 6.27 percent. On Wednesday, 236 new cases were reported Thursday. Since March 2, Hillsborough County had 40,126 positive cases of coronavirus with 34,216 people recovering from the virus and 606 fatalities. Visit the county's coronavirus dashboard for more information.

The county commission has extended the state of local emergency, including the face covering mandate, for another seven days. The commission will meet again Thursday, Sept. 24 at 1:30 p.m.

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