Orange County Convention Center testing site starts using expanded coronavirus criteria

Anyone with COVID-19 contact can now be tested

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – As the number of the coronavirus cases in Florida continued to rise over the weekend, beginning Monday more people will qualify to get tested in Central Florida after state health officials expanded testing criteria.

For the first time, anyone who had close contact with a confirmed case can get tested at the Orange County Convention Center even if they're not showing symptoms.

“If you’re a known COVID patient and you get that positive result, you should do your due diligence and notify the people you’ve been in contact with,” spokesperson for the FEMA testing site Lauren Luna said.

Organizers said people with symptoms or preexisting conditions can still get the test. Testing is also available for those working on the front lines like health care workers and first responders.

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“I think it was very generous that they opened it up to that category because you may have a dry cough which is one of the symptoms but you may not have the fevers, so by dropping the fever requirement, if you’re not at that point yet, it allows you to come and get tested,” Luna said.

Since the site opened in mid-March, nearly 5,000 tests have been conducted at the site. Luna said the site will now provide up to 400 tests per day up from the initial 250 daily limit.

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"You have to keep in mind there could be multiple patients in those vehicle and we don't know that till they get through this pre-screening area," Luna said.

Coronavirus tests are free. The site will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and it will close if the center hits the maximum amount of tests.

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About the Author:

Ezzy Castro is a multimedia journalist on News 6's morning team who has a passion for telling the stories of the people in the Central Florida community. Ezzy worked at WFOR CBS4 in South Florida and KBMT in Beaumont, Texas, where she covered Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Being from Miami, Ezzy loves Cuban coffee and croquetas!

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