COVID-19 testing site at Al Barnes Park to open on Jan. 4

The City of Tampa, in partnership with the Florida Department of Health, will reopen the COVID-19 testing site at Al Barnes Park (2902 N 32nd St, Tampa, FL 33605) on Tuesday, January 4 due to the increasing demand for tests.

Al Barnes Park will operate as a drive-through testing site. People will be able to access the testing site by driving east on 21st Avenue, turning right and driving south on N. 32nd Street and turning right again onto E. 18th  Avenue, where there will be a dedicated lane to enter the park.

This comes as the walk-up testing site at Al Lopez Park (4810 N. Himes Ave. Tampa, FL 33614) will reopen on Friday, December 31.

Hours of operation for both Al Lopez and Al Barnes testing sites will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and run seven days a week. Both sites will also offer the PCR and the Rapid Antigen tests.

While specific appointment times will not be available on this walk-up site, people are able to pre-register their information with Nomi Health and the City of Tampa to receive their test results.

The Al Lopez Testing Site and Al Barnes Testing sites will offer testing only.

People looking to get a COVID-19 vaccine can get one at the West Tampa Community Resource Center (2103 N. Rome Ave., Tampa, FL 33607), operated by Hillsborough County.

Hillsborough County also has additional testing sites available.

Hillsborough County and the Tampa Bay area are currently listed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as a substantial risk.  As such, health experts are recommending residents, even those who are fully vaccinated, wear a mask in indoor public places and in crowded outdoor settings.

Health experts also recommend staying home and not attending gatherings if:

  • You were exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
  • You have symptoms associated with COVID-19: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea.

People with weakened immune systems are not fully protected even if they are vaccinated. They should continue to take all recommended Infection Prevention precautions, including wearing a well-fitted mask.

The average positivity rate over the past seven days for Hillsborough County is 13.6 percent.

Currently, 65.7 percent of Hillsborough County residents ages five and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, according to Hillsborough County’s COVID-19 Dashboard. 

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