ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Traffic for COVID-19 testing at Orange County’s Barnett Park backed up for miles when the site reopened on Sunday after being closed due to the New Year’s holiday.
The long line of cars snaked through the park, spilling onto Colonial Drive and John Young Parkway.
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People arrived hours before the site opened to get tested for COVID-19. Orange County’s testing sites were closed on Friday and Saturday because of the holiday.
Alexandra Nixon with Orange County Health Services spoke about the high demand for testing.
“This is definitely the busiest we’ve seen out here. We’ve been out here for almost two years and this is the busiest we’ve seen across all three sites,” Nixon said.
Nixon said the high demand prompted the county to open two more testing sites last week at the Econ Soccer Complex and the South Orange Youth Sports Complex.
Nixon said, on average, the sites perform 200 tests an hour.
“We’re expecting it to be busy for the next few weeks,” Nixon said.
Seminole County is also seeing a surge in testing. Emergency Manager Alan Harris said that is why the county extended testing at the Oviedo campus of Seminole State College for another week.
The county is also opening a fifth testing site at the Sanford SunRail station.
All of Seminole County’s testing sites require appointments. News 6 checked and most are booked for the next couple of days.
“We have seen incredibly long lines in other counties and our appointments at our sites are booked up almost as soon as we put them out,” Harris said.
Click here to find a COVID-19 testing site near you.