Coronavirus testing expands to Orange County ‘hot zones’

Health officials say residents gave asked for testing sites in these hard-hit areas for a while

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – COVID-19 testing has started in the so-called hot zones in Orange County. The testing sites are located at Ventura Elementary School in 32822 and South Orange Youth Park in 32824.

[INTERACTIVE MAP: Here’s where to get your drive-thru coronavirus test]

“We are just optimistic that within this hot zone 32822 zip code were able to increase testing,” Mayor Jerry Demings said.

Health officials said residents had been asking for testing sites in these hard-hit areas for a while but couldn’t open until now.

The challenge with this was we didn’t have collection kits and so these past several weeks we’ve been working on trying to get collection kits and finally, we got a supply from the state that would allow us to sustain additional testing sites without taking from the existing sites," Demings explained.

Health workers at both sites are issuing nasal swab testing for both drive-ups and walk-ups with appointments.

Each site is available to issue 160 to 200 tests a day. Results are expected to be ready between 3-5 days.

Anyone 18 or older can be tested for free, regardless of whether they have symptoms, as long as they register for an appointment beforehand by visiting ocfl.net/coronavirus.

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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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