ORLANDO, Fla. – Two of Orange County’s three COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites will close Saturday.
The county is closing the sites at the South Orange Youth Complex and the Econ Soccer Complex on March 19.
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The county said the COVID-19 14-day rolling positivity rate is 2.6%, and 76% of residents have at least one dose of the vaccine. Cases have been falling since the height of the omicron variant surge in January.
Daniella Jaimes-Colina with Orange County Health Services said the demand for testing has dropped tremendously compared to a few months ago.
“I would say each testing site is doing around 300 to 400 tests a day,” Jaimes-Colina said.
Barnett Park’s testing and vaccination site will remain open at least through March 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. This site is also in danger of closing as the county waits to hear if federal funding from the U.S. Congress will continue after March 25.
“Historically, people know Barnett Park as the place to go during the pandemic. People know Barnett as a place to go for testing and vaccinations,” Jaimes-Colina said. “Keeping the testing services open will be contingent upon federal funding. I don’t think the county has funds located for testing services especially now that the demand is not there.”
Congress passed a massive spending bill to continue the government last week, but continued funding for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations was stripped from the bill.
“Funding to keep people safe from COVID should not be political,” said Rep. Val Demings, D-Orlando. “I am angry that politicians in Washington have politicized these lifesaving programs. I will continue to work with local leaders and other partners to do everything in our power to keep people safe and make sure that our economy and schools can safely stay open.”