Florida Division of Emergency Management will open a new walk-up COVID-19 test center in Manatee County beginning Thursday. Adults ages 18 and older with a valid ID can be tested at Lincoln Park, 501 17th Street East, daily from 9 am to 6 pm, or until 200 test kits have been administered. The site will be open for at least 14 days. No appointment and no prescription are necessary. The tests are free to the public.

The Incident Commander at the site is Robby Bennett (rbennettscfd@gmail.com), a retired battalion chief with the Sarasota Fire Department. He is available to answer media inquiries each day between the hours of 10 a.m. and noon. To date, 16,248 COVID-19 tests have been completed in Manatee County, about 4 percent of the total population. Over the past seven days there has been an increase of 5,562 tested, a 52 percent increase in tests in one week.

County leaders have set a goal to test 2 percent of the population every month. By meeting that goal, officials can better learn hot spots and where the virus may be spreading.

With the new walk-up testing site, Manatee County residents and visitors now have another way to get tested free of charge without an appointment. The State also continues to test residents and visitors of Manatee County through the drive-through site located near the University Town Center Mall.

A key metric for the overall COVID-19 impacts in a community is the downward trajectory of overall percent positive cases between seven and 14 days. Manatee County had a 17-day downward trajectory through Thursday, May 21. Total positive tests held steady at 6.8 percent on May 21 and 22, then decreased by 0.1 percent, on May 23 to 6.7 percent positive cases.

The 6.1 percent positive tests on May 25 is the lowest rate in Manatee County since the state began tracking these metrics.

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