Hillsborough County ends state of emergency, closing COVID-19 test and vaccine site

TAMPA, Fla. - The state of emergency in Hillsborough County that has been in effect for the last two years has now ended.

Also, the county is closing its final COVID-19 testing and vaccination site at the West Tampa Community Resource Center – located at 2103 N. Rome Avenue –  on Wednesday due to lower case numbers and decrease in demand.  

The site will continue to offer free COVID-19 testing and vaccinations from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily until it is closed.

As of March 10, the COVID-19 positivity rate in Hillsborough County is 2.9%, according to the county health department.

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In February, Hillsborough County updated its COVID-19 face-covering guidelines for staff and visitors, which encourages the wearing of face coverings at county facilities but officials will no longer makes it a requirement. 

The directive applies to Hillsborough County facilities, including libraries, recreation centers, and the Frederick B. Karl County Center. Face coverings will still be available at county facilities for visitors who request one.

Here's a breakdown of COVID-19 statistics in Hillsborough County, provided by the county health department:

• From March 25, 2020, to March 13, 2022, Hillsborough County administered 621,986 COVID-19 tests through numerous COVID-19 testing sites and mobile sites.
• From Jan. 4, 2021, to March 13, 2022, Hillsborough County, the City of Tampa, and the State of Florida administered 446,487 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine through the numerous vaccination sites, Targeted Vaccine Area (TVA) missions, and mobile vaccination services provided to Hillsborough County residents.
• From August 19, 2021, to January 25, 2022, the County administered a total of 12,768 monoclonal antibody therapy treatments.
• As of March 10, 2022, 69 percent of all eligible Hillsborough County residents have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Due to the low COVID-19 positivity rate in the county and the ending of the COVID-19 testing and vaccination operations, Hillsborough County will allow the state of local emergency to expire on Thursday. 

The state of local emergency was first issued March 12, 2020. The designation of a state of local emergency gave the County Administrator and emergency managers the ability to quickly take certain actions to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the community, and provided a path for federal reimbursement of certain expenses, such as the county's COVID-19 vaccination efforts.  

Hillsborough County says it will continue to monitor COVID-19 case numbers, surges, and variants in the community to determine if there is ever a need to open a testing or vaccination site in the future.