Dozens of cars continued to line up Thursday for a coronavirus testing site in Cardiff that was ordered by the county to shut down.
COVID Clinic began testing residents on Monday but was ordered on Wednesday to close after they county found it failed to provide proof it has the necessary credentials and certifications required by State law to conduct its tests.
The clinic sent an email at nearly 11:30 p.m. Wednesday to individuals who already paid for and were registered for a test, notifying them that it was "in the process of moving the testing center to a new location in San Diego County." It failed to mention the county shut it down.
Many people still showed up at MiraCosta College’s San Elijo campus to get their tests, but police informed them that the site was closed. Officers put up signs and ordered vehicles to leave the premises.
The clinic offered its clients two kinds of tests -- a $125 nasal swab test that would detect if the individual has the coronavirus, and a $75 anti-body test that would determine if an individual already had COVID-19. The anti-body tests has not been FDA-approved.
“I’m trying to figure out why the county would close them down when it’s very important that we have these tests done to see how many people have actually had the virus,” Carlsbad resident Joanne Heaviland told NBC 7.
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Several people expressed their disappointment in the closure and said they would attend other locations if the clinic opens elsewhere.
“It’s disappointing. I think this was a wonderful thing that they opened this,” Deborah Camacho, Point Loma resident said.
COVID Clinic’s website remains up and running with its Orange County location listed, but it does not mention that its San Diego County location has been closed.
It has not said if people who pre-registered and paid for their tests would get refunds.
