New drive-thru COVID testing site opens in Orlando as cases rise

On Tuesday, Orange County opened a new drive-thru COVID-19 testing site on the east side of the county.

Econ Soccer Complex located at 8035 Yates Road in Orlando will offer no-cost COVID testing seven days a week from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Walk-up testing is not allowed and there is a limit of four people per vehicle. Online pre-registration is required but appointments are not necessary. COVID vaccines are not available at Econ Soccer Complex.

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Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings hopes the new site will ease congestion at the COVID testing and vaccine site at Barnett Park. Barnett Park has been overwhelmed the last few days as COVID cases surge.

Last week, Orange County saw more than 7,500 new COVID cases, surpassing the highest number of weekly cases since January 2021. Orange County has seen a total of nearly 170,000 reported COVID cases.

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Mayor Demings said the new testing site was selected because of its location. 

"When we look at east Orange County, based upon the predicted upon model that we use with the wastewater analysis, it’s showing that east Orange is a location where we likely are going to see a corresponding increase in the rate of transmission of the virus within that community."

COVID testing and vaccinations will continue at Barnett Park seven days a week from 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

For more information Orange County’s testing sites, visit the Orange County government website.

Watch FOX 35 News for the latest COVID-19 updates. 

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