ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – After testing sites closed for Christmas, Floridians were eager to get tested when the sites resumed testing.
According to the Florida Association of Public Information Officers, wait times at the Orange County Convention Center were around two hours. Officials told those wanting to be tested to plan ahead.
Officials said patients should have a full tank of gas, use the restroom before arriving and make sure their windows can fully open and close.
According to officials, the testing site is open until 5 p.m. but the gates may close early.
#COVID19 testing resumes - current wait times at these @FLSERT sites:@OCCC 2-2.5 hours@HardRockStadium 3 hours
— Florida Association of Public Information Officers (@FloridaPIOs) December 26, 2020
Plan ahead:
✔Full tank of gas
✔Use restroom before arriving ✔Make sure your windows fully open and close
✔Open til 5 p.m. but gates may close early pic.twitter.com/3sCXi8vOSk
Just before 3 p.m. officials with the test site announced that the line was being cut off for the day to allow for the processing of everyone by closing time.
In a tweet, officials said those wishing to get a test can save time and pre-register at patientportalfl.com before coming out to the site.
Orange County Health Services extended free COVID-19 testing at Barnett Park through Jan. 30 on Saturday.
New patients at the @OrangeCoFL COVID testing site at Barnett Park will not be accepted after 3:45 p.m. today due to reaching capacity. Testing will resume at 9 a.m. December 27. pic.twitter.com/W8VBrkkJLr
— Orange County FL (@OrangeCoFL) December 26, 2020
The testing site is open seven days a week but will close for New Year’s Day.
Important Update: Orange County Health Services is extending free COVID-19 #testing at Barnett Park through Jan. 30. 7 days per week. Closed New Year's Day. #COVID19 @OrangeCoParksFL @citybeautiful @DohOrange Updates soon on web at https://t.co/D2lPkwEArU. pic.twitter.com/p5byQTyKix
— Orange County FL (@OrangeCoFL) December 26, 2020