Holly Hill mayor wants symptomatic lane at COVID-19 testing site in Volusia

10 days later, mayor still hasn't received his coronavirus test results

HOLLY HILL, Fla. – Thursday marks 10 days since Holly Hill Mayor Chris Via was tested for COVID-19 at the Volusia County Fairgrounds and he’s still waiting for his results.

“We were told within 48 to 72 hours we would know if we were positive or if we were negative,” Via said.

Via said he’s been self-isolating out of an abundance of caution but knows not all residents can do the same.

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

“Citizens have called me and said, ‘Listen, I don’t know if I’m sick or not. I haven’t been able to get my test results back but I have to go to work. I have to put food on the table for my family,‘” he said.

Via said he’s now pushing to have Gov. Ron DeSantis open up a symptomatic lane in Volusia County, a lane just for people who are showing symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

On Wednesday, the governor explained how the drive-thru lanes will work and will be launched in four counties throughout the state starting Friday, including at a test site at the Orange County Convention Center.

“If you’re symptomatic, you go through, you’ll be able to do a self swab. You’ll be able to send it to a lab that will turn it around in a more timely fashion,” DeSantis said.

[RELATED: Governor: More remdesivir coming to Florida, Orange County to see COVID-19 testing changes]

Via said the current turnaround times for test results is unacceptable.

“We need an expedited testing line for people that are showing symptoms because 10 to 14 days is not acceptable. At that time, people can still go out into the community and they can infect people,” Via said.

Via said he’s already alerted his staff at city hall about possibly being exposed to the virus and said so far no one else is showing symptoms.

If you’re looking for a place to get tested for COVID-19, you can find the testing site nearest to you using this interactive map.

To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6′s coronavirus newsletter and go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.


About the Author:

Loren Korn is a native Texan who joined the News 6 team as a reporter in May 2014. She was born and raised in Houston and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Journalism.

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