The wait for a COVID-19 test took 14 minutes for some, more than two hours for others

DUVAL COUNTY, Fla. — The Telescope Health COVID-19 testing site in Neptune Beach hit capacity once again before it officially opened at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the Nomi Health site in St. Augustine, run in collaboration with St. Johns County, is working to test more than a thousand people a day. It only had to close the line before 4 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday because it reached capacity. On Monday, workers had to stop the line at 3 p.m. and on Tuesday, they stopped the line at 3:30 p.m. However, they don’t anticipate having to do that on Wednesday.

The site at the Wind Mitigation Building, which is open seven days a week, tested 1,486 people total on Tuesday.

The site in Neptune Beach is funded by the City of Jacksonville and is open Monday through Friday. It is able to offer a total of 250 free PCR and rapid tests each day.

Judy Chambers and her friend Stephanie Saylor were back in line at the Neptune Beach testing site early Tuesday morning.

“I got up at 4 o’clock,” Chambers pointed out. “When did we get here?” she turned to Saylor to ask, and they concluded: “4:15 [a.m.].”

Chambers and Saylor were turned away on Tuesday once the site hit capacity before opening.

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“I was surprised that there were so many people so early,” Chambers said.

On Wednesday, they were in the first row.

Chambers counted the cars in front of her. “One, two, three, four, five, yay!”

Meanwhile, in St. Augustine, “it was fast and easy,” Tinsey Howard said.

She says she drove to St. Augustine from Mandarin. A drive that was likely longer than it took to get through the line.

“Total, probably 14 minutes,” is the time Howard said it took for her to be in and out.

Between Monday and Tuesday, the Wind Mitigation Building site, run by St. Johns County and NOMI Health, has offered free PCR and rapid tests to more than 2,600 people.

Since Monday, it has worked to bring in more employees in order to process more people.

“I think it’s wonderful,” Howard said. “I think that Jacksonville’s should be as efficient as this one.”

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Despite the difference in wait times, these women were determined to get tested after being exposed to COVID-19.

“I’m around people who could be severely affected,” Chambers explained.

“I’m a surviving cancer patient,” Howard shared.

And now their final wait will be for results.

“I’ll be glad to get the answer!” Howard said.

Next Tuesday, Jacksonville City Council will review emergency legislation to open more sites.

You can find a full list of testing sites here.

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