I would like to extend my best wishes to everyone for a healthy and prosperous New Year! It's been just over a year since the vaccinations were made available. The record-breaking development of the COVID-19 vaccines was one of the most astounding accomplishments for 2021. The vaccines are estimated to have saved nearly 750,000 lives in the United States and Europe alone. It helped reboot a global economy and allowed the world to return to normal activities such as social interactions, in-person learning and traveling. More than 4.4 billion people have had one or more doses — about 56% of the world population. As new variants continue to evolve, health care officials urge everyone to get vaccinated! As we celebrate the New Year, we urge everyone to take the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of the highly contagious COVID-19 variant(s).   For vaccine locations, click here.

Update on testing sites

In response to the recent surge of COVID-19 cases and to address the high demand for testing, an additional drive-through COVID-19 testing site opened today south of the Wells Recreation Center, 2409 Avenue H West, Riviera Beach (near the baseball fields). The new site is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., 7 days/week, until further notice. (This site and all other state-operated locations will be closed on 12/31 and 1/1.) For more details on all testing sites, click here. Another testing site will be opening in the Boynton Beach area shortly (details to follow). Additionally, a temporary testing location was opened by the healthcare district located at Lakeside Hospital 39200 Hooker Hwy. in Belle Glade. Testing is free, but when available, insurance or Medicare/Medicaid programs will be billed to help cover testing costs. ​Please bring your insurance card to the testing center. In addition to the comprehensive list of testing locations on the county's website, most commercial pharmacies and physician’s offices can do COVID testing for little or no cost. For more information, visit the county's COVID-19 website or contact the Florida Dept. of Health COVID-19 Call Center, available 24/7, at 1(866) 779-6121 or email: COVID-19@flhealth.gov.  Please do not go to Palm Beach County hospital emergency rooms for COVID testing.

At-home testing kits

The Board of County Commissioners will address the need for at-home testing kits for residents at their upcoming meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.

County buildings to require masks

In an abundance of caution and to ensure the safety of our county staff and residents, face coverings will be required within county-owned/leased buildings, until the current surge in cases subsides. Accommodations will be made for those unable to comply. This is effective Monday (1/3/22).

As always, my staff and I are here to assist and can be reached at 561-355-2204 or rweinroth@pbcgov.org.

District 4 Staff Lucia Bonavita lbonavita@pbcgov.org Yailen Mejias ymejias@pbcgov.org Caitlin Joyce cjoyce@pbcgov.org