After more than a week of COVID-19 testing at different parks and centers throughout Clay County, the Department of Health will open a fixed testing operation.
On Wednesday, testing will be done at Oakleaf Community Park from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., and Walter Odum Park at 450 Parkwood Drive in Orange Park on May 14 and 15 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Both places are testing by appointment only.
Beginning Monday, May 18, there will be a permanent location at the Clay County Health Department - Bear Run Clinic at 3229 Bear Run Blvd. in Orange Park. Personnel will conduct testing from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Clay County Director of Emergency Management John Ward said testing at remote sites for people without transportation have not had any positive cases yet.
The county is waiting on word from Gov. Ron DeSantis before entering Phase 2, just like the rest of the state outside of South Florida, which is under tighter restrictions.
“The expectation is that's going to be coming very soon, potentially in the next week,” Ward said.
In the meantime, public libraries have opened in the county from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The libraries in Orange Park, Green Cove Springs and Keystone Heights are open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, while the facilities in Fleming Island and Middleburg are open Tuesday and Thursday.
Related: Local, State, And National Coronavirus Coverage
Computers at the libraries will be available for one hour sessions, while Wi-Fi is available in the parking lot.
The Clay County Tax Collector’s office opened Wednesday morning, along with the Supervisor of Elections office earlier in the week.
On May 18, the Property Appraiser’s office will reopen in Green Cove Springs, but the branch in Orange Park will remain closed.
Clay County is continuing its partnership with CareerSource to help re-employ citizens who lost jobs during the pandemic.
“There’s jobs from Home Depot, CVS, many administrative positions, many hospital positions, driver positions and nursing home positions that are available here in Clay County,” Ward said.
Residents looking to find work can go to this website to schedule an appointment.
The county is also opening up new food pick-up locations because of an increase in demand. The new locations will be:
- Lakeside Junior High School (Wednesdays, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.)
- Lake Asbury Junior High School (Thursdays, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.)
- Wilkinson Junior High School (Fridays, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.)
- Keystone Heights Elementary (Fridays, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
Heather Huffman with the Clay County Department of Health said the current positivity rate in the county sits at 5.8%.
Huffman said the county DOH is calling each long-term care facility three times each week and gauging their needs for personal protective equipment, staffing, and screening processes.
Clay County doesn’t have antibody testing available, and Huffman said if that is something a person wants, they’ll need to get it from a private health provider.
Sky Lebron can be reached at slebron@wjct.org, 904-358-6319 or on Twitter at @SkylerLebron.
