SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — As COVID-19 cases across the state continue to rise, demand for testing in Central Florida is also surging so Seminole County has added another testing site to meet that demand.

What You Need To Know

People will have to have an appointment to get tested at the Sanford SunRail Station at 2720 West State Road 46 in Sanford. 

Appointments are booked out for the next few days, but people can check the online portal for any cancellations. The county now operates five testing sites which offer 4,500 tests per day, according to Seminole County Emergency Manager Alan Harris.

“We only have a certain amount of test kits and until we know we can get more, we can’t have additional appointments,” he explained.

Harris says there has been a bit of a delay getting tests due to the increased demand nationwide. He expects that demand to subside soon enough.

“We have to get over this major holiday hump and we have to get over everybody coming back together to be in school. Once we’ve weathered that, it should start to go down.”

The county changed its testing sites to appointment only to avoid the long lines officials saw when offering on-site giveaways for those at-home tests during the holidays.

Seminole County added this site at the Sanford SunRail station to several other testing sites — including one at Red Bug Lake Park in Casselberry — to meet demand with cases rising.

People who want to get tested can schedule an appointment online at PrepareSeminole.org. Testing begins at 8 a.m. and goes until 5 p.m. each day, according to EventBrite.

State health data shows the county now has a more than 30% positivity rate of new coronavirus cases.

One woman learned the hard way about the appointment requirement when she showed up to Red Bug Lake Park on Friday and was turned away.

“I was out and I thought, 'Oh, there’s not many cars here.' But no, it didn’t work, but you know, that’s it; I’ll go next week, and hopefully everything will be fine,” Casselberry resident Sylvia DeVinney said.

At these testing sites, Seminole County is offering PCR tests, with results within two to three days, and the rapid tests, which will provide the results within 30 minutes.