Many disappointed after Cape Coral COVID-19 test site closes without explanation

Reporter: Breana Ross Writer: Jack Lowenstein
Published: Updated:
The Curative COVID-19 test site on Cultural Park Boulevard in Cape Coral was closed unexpectedly Wednesday, July 21, 2021. Many people who had scheduled appointments at the test site were disappointed to arrive at the facility and be met with the message posted on the front door as seen above. Credit: WINK News.

UPDATE: The Curative test site reopened Thursday morning.

People who showed up for a COVID-19 test at a site in Southwest Florida were met with a locked door even after it said operations would continue.

The Curative site in Cape Coral said it would discontinue administering COVID-19 vaccines at its location but said it would stay open for testing.

When people showed up at the site Wednesday, the door to the testing facility on Cultural Park Boulevard was locked.

A company spokesperson said the site ran out of testing supplies.

The Curative COVID-19 test site on Cultural Park Boulevard in Cape Coral was closed unexpectedly Wednesday, July 21, 2021. Many people who had scheduled appointments at the test site were disappointed to arrive at the facility and be met with the message posted on the front door as seen above. Credit: WINK News.

A sign on the door of the building said the closure was due to unexpected circumstances, but it’s not what roughly two dozen people wanted to see when they arrived there for testing during the day.

“Just maybe an hour ago they let me log in,” Britton Ellis said. “I used my previous ID. They brought it up and had all my records, the VA information, and they gave me a list of 35 appointments for today. So I picked one.”

When Ellis got to the site, he could not get into the building, and there was no one there either, only a sign letting him know his testing appointment wouldn’t happen Wednesday.

“It’s kind of frustrating for them to close,” Britton said. “Electronically, it should be pretty easy to pull those down, and they didn’t do that. So here I am out here wondering where I am going to go next to get tested.”

Ellis was not alone in his disappointment. We saw a handful of people arrive during the afternoon, only to turn around and leave frustrated.

“When you go online, it states that it’s open,” said Irene Lewis, who was also among those turned away at the site.

“If you were exposed to someone now that has tested or is sick … and you were exposed to them and they didn’t know it and you didn’t know it, that’s why people get tested,” said Wally Ilczyszyn.

Ilczyszyn didn’t have an appointment. He wanted to do a walk-in test, so he will have to wait.

The day was disappointing for everyone who wanted peace of mind about COVID-19 and the surging delta variant of the coronavirus.

“I want to protect others,” Ellis said. He called Curative’s customer care line, and someone on the other end told him the site should be back open Thursday.

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