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More COVID-19 cases confirmed near UCF
Officials say they are seeing many new coronavirus cases among young people and many are from the UCF area.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Officials in Orlando are monitoring what they believe is a breeding ground for the coronavirus.
They're seeing a number of new cases come out of the UCF area. Many of those cases are being traced back to some local hangouts.
Health officials are calling the UCF area a hotspot for COVID-19 and in neighboring Seminole County, which borders the northern part of the UCF campus – officials are reporting a growing number of infections among 18 to 30-year-olds.
Officials say young people testing positive for COVID-19 are all saying the same thing when the health department calls them for contact tracing.
“The sick individuals have all stated they’ve been around a pub, a bar, or an event during the holiday weekend. Saying yeah, my friend was at the same pool party, my friend was at the same bar.”
Earlier this week, Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters an increase in testing is the reason we’re seeing a spike, but Seminole County leaders say that’s not the case here.
"These young people have been symptomatic. And they’ve gone to Urgent Care doctors offices and hospitals to be tested. So what we’re seeing here locally does not seem to be related to our increased community testing for asymptomatic and symptomatic."
Some people who live in the area say some young folks are not taking the CDC guidelines seriously.
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“Most of my friends don’t seem to care about it right now," one resident told FOX 35 News. "They’re kind of living life as if nothing changed.”
State Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith tells FOX 35 that he believes some businesses are breaking capacity regulations and is asking the state to investigate and more aggressively enforce these health standards.