COVID-19 testing site opens in Seminole County to assist with demand

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. - Seminole County is hoping to help with some of the demand for COVID-19 tests.

For more than a week, lines of cars have stretched outside of sites across Central Florida.

The newest testing site in Seminole County is at Seminole State College in Oviedo. It will operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting Tuesday and through Friday, Dec. 31. Rapid PCR tests will be available. Appointments are required.

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The new site was added to help the Florida Department of Health service more people as the new Omicron COVID-19 variant is causing a surge in cases. Demand especially skyrocketed in the days leading up to Christmas.

Other counties in Central Florida are experiencing a similar rise in cases. For example, Orange County just opened a new COVID-19 testing site at Econ Soccer Complex to ease congestion at the existing site in Barnett Park.

Seminole County Emergency Manager said that rising Omicron cases are making an already busy season worse.

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"We knew there would be a demand during the holiday but we had no idea Omicron would play such a factor and so many people would be out sick," Alan Harris of Seminole County Emergency Management said.

To make an appointment at Seminole State College in Oviedo, go to http://PrepareSeminole.org.

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