ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Coming off of spring break, lines at the COVID-19 testing and vaccination site at Barnett Park remained short with many visitors getting in and out within minutes.
Latest numbers from the state health department show Orange County’s COVID-19 positivity rate is under 3%.
[TRENDING: Disney changes policy after school’s Native American chant at Magic Kingdom | Gas prices drop 20 cents per gallon in Florida | Become a News 6 Insider (it’s free!)]
Mayor Jerry Demings said with low demand and plenty of other options, the large county-run sites are unnecessary.
“At this point, better than 67% of our population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. We said in the beginning, we were trying to get to 76% or 77% to get vaccinated to develop herd immunity, so many of the people in our community now are vaccinated and or have had COVID 19,” Demings said.
The Barnett Park COVID-19 testing site is the last of three major testing locations in the county after the ECON Soccer Complex and South Orange Youth Sports Complex testing sites closed over the weekend.
As the omicron and delta variants swept through the U.S., News 6 saw long lines of cars at testing sites. Now, the county said it’s only seeing about 300 to 400 people a day showing up at Barnett Park.
County officials said without more federal funding, the site at Barnett Park will also have to shut down Friday.
“At some point have to transition out of providing the high cost of testing facilities and opportunities for vaccinations. There will still be opportunities through your healthcare providers, through local pharmacies and other retail community partners,” Demings said.
Demings said if there is a resurgence of COVID-19 and demand for testing rises again, he is prepared to reopen a county-run testing site with county dollars.
Meantime, the site at Barnett Park will continue offering COVID-19 tests and vaccinations for kids and adults every day from 9 am to 5 p.m. through Friday, March 21.