TAMPA, Fla. — As the Delta variant continues to spread more people are wanting to get tested again.
The lines and wait times across the Bay area have been pretty long in some areas.
Starting Monday in Tampa, a free testing location has been set up at Al Lopez Park, located at 4602 N. Himes Ave.
It will be a drive-thru site open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
A few months ago, testing sites were shutting down as COVID cases dropped.
But with the spread of the variant, crowded testing sites are the reality again.
Last Wednesday, the city of Tampa opened a walk-up COVID testing site at Al Lopez Park.
Now it is converting to a drive through site so it can handle more people.
Signs are back up on nearby roads marking the entrance to the testing site at the park.
The positivity rate for those being tested in Hillsborough County as of last week was just above 23 percent.
The number of confirmed cases has triple compared to just a month ago.
The local hospitalization rate is going up as well.
And that means more strain on doctors, nurses and local hospitals as they deal with the increase in COVID cases, while at the same time handling day to day emergencies and other patients.
If you do seek out a COVID test in the coming week, be prepared to wait for results.
Some facilities are back to taking 3-5 days to turn around test results.
