Some wait 3 hours for COVID-19 test as cases surge in Central Florida – WESH 2 Orlando

Anita Calore was so upset over cars sneaking their way into the waiting line for COVID-19 testing, she took it upon herself to make a sign and to stop people from cutting in. “Everybody was skipping the line. I don’t want to stay here. This is not fair,” she said.Calores’ family was waiting in one of the hundreds of cars backed up along East Colonial, all seeking COVID-19 tests at Econ Park. “I feel terrible. I feel like I wanna be at home in bed, take a cold shower. It’s getting tough out here,” Irma Bernabe said. Several people told us they waited over three hours for their turn in the testing tent.Orange County had closed the site at the Econ Soccer Complex in November when COVID-19 numbers dropped way down, but they re-opened it Monday to meet the huge demand for tests. Officials hope it will relieve the pressure on the site at Barnett Park which has seen similar lines.One couple told us they tried to buy a self-testing kit this weekend but couldn’t find any. “We went to a Walgreens that they had some at a certain location yesterday, we went last night, and they didn’t have any,” Jamie and Jennifer Monroe said. The spike in people seeking testing correlates with the surge in new COVID-19 cases but one bit of encouraging news is so far, there has not been a surge in hospitalizations. According to AdventHealth, at its Central Florida Hospitals, there are currently 145 COVID-19 patients. They say that’s a number that’s been relatively stable since the delta surge leveled off following an August peak of 1,700 hospitalizations. Orlando Health says it has experienced a moderate increase in hospitalizations and currently has 126 COVID-19 patients.

Anita Calore was so upset over cars sneaking their way into the waiting line for COVID-19 testing, she took it upon herself to make a sign and to stop people from cutting in.

“Everybody was skipping the line. I don’t want to stay here. This is not fair,” she said.

Calores’ family was waiting in one of the hundreds of cars backed up along East Colonial, all seeking COVID-19 tests at Econ Park.

“I feel terrible. I feel like I wanna be at home in bed, take a cold shower. It’s getting tough out here,” Irma Bernabe said.

Several people told us they waited over three hours for their turn in the testing tent.

Orange County had closed the site at the Econ Soccer Complex in November when COVID-19 numbers dropped way down, but they re-opened it Monday to meet the huge demand for tests.

Officials hope it will relieve the pressure on the site at Barnett Park which has seen similar lines.

One couple told us they tried to buy a self-testing kit this weekend but couldn’t find any.

“We went to a Walgreens that they had some at a certain location yesterday, we went last night, and they didn’t have any,” Jamie and Jennifer Monroe said.

The spike in people seeking testing correlates with the surge in new COVID-19 cases but one bit of encouraging news is so far, there has not been a surge in hospitalizations.

According to AdventHealth, at its Central Florida Hospitals, there are currently 145 COVID-19 patients. They say that’s a number that’s been relatively stable since the delta surge leveled off following an August peak of 1,700 hospitalizations.

Orlando Health says it has experienced a moderate increase in hospitalizations and currently has 126 COVID-19 patients.

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