Pine Island COVID-19 Task Force seeks testing and political help for islanders
On Monday July 6, the Pine Island COVID-19 Task Force began its meeting with group member and former WINK-TV news anchor Jim McLaughlin asking which political candidate should receive the group’s recently formulated questionnaire.
“From a news standpoint,” said McLaughlin, “if I were doing this as a story, I would limit it to the candidates who will have a direct impact on what goes on on Pine Island and Matlacha. Now you’ve eliminated 95 percent of the candidates.”
McLaughlin conversely suggested the possible inclusion of all those currently running for a county commissioner seat, even those outside of our district. Task Force leader Eric McCrea pointed out that the information for this endeavor can be found on the Pine Island Pandemic Task Force Facebook page.
Doctor Jim Koopman contends that everyone running for a commissioner seat may be of relevance to Pine Island.
“What the commission does as a whole affects the islanders,” agreed McCrea. “So those would be relevant candidates for us to question.”
Turning the meeting toward the subject of testing, Koopman stated that a system which provides no immediate testing, especially for those who have knowingly come into contact with the virus, is not a system at all, but rather a lack of one.
“In the absence of a system, like that, which exists in most of the world, where you can get control of transmission, what do we do?” asked Koopman.
McLaughlin suggested setting up testing at one of the Pine Island Fire Stations and possibly partnering with Lee Health. He reminded the group that immediacy is key as the numbers grow exponentially daily.
It was concluded that the only free testing site currently known by the group is at Centurylink Stadium at 14100 6 Mile Cypress Parkway, Fort Myers, FL 33912.