TWO-PRONGED CRISIS

Florida to Close All State Coronavirus Testing Sites Due to Approaching Tropical Storm

The state has one of the highest case counts in the nation, but an oncoming hurricane season promises to complicate testing.

The Florida Division of Emergency Management announced Wednesday that all the state’s coronavirus testing sites would close over the weekend due to an approaching tropical storm system. The sites will shutter after the end of business Thursday and reopen Tuesday morning. Potential Tropical Cyclone Nine, as the system is currently called, was moving through the Caribbean Wednesday and was forecast to gain strength as it passed over Cuba later in the week. Projections show the storm hitting Florida over the weekend. Testing nationwide has lagged behind what experts say is necessary to contain the virus, and an approaching hurricane season promises to complicate the needed measures. Florida has one of the highest confirmed case counts of COVID-19, with more than 450,000 cases as of Wednesday.