NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — Families all over Central Florida are scrambling for a last-minute COVID-19 test before the holidays.

Certain testing sites will be open on Christmas Eve including the City Gym location in New Smyrna Beach. 

On Dec. 20 alone, the City Gym site conducted more than 1,000 tests.

“You know we’ve got Christmas coming up and we’re on the verge of trying to see if we can get family together, and we all want to be negative (for COVID-19),” said Bob Jones, who came to the site to get a test Thursday.

Over the weekend he came into contact with a family member who contracted COVID, and although Jones doesn’t have any telling symptoms, he took a rapid test to try and help ease his mind.

“We haven’t been near him in five days, so we’re thinking maybe we can salvage some of us,” Jones said.

The site has been offering antigen tests with rapid results that get back to visitors within an hour since early October .

A PCR tests take 24-48 hours for results. 

“This is the best because we went out and bought a test,” Jones said.

For him, it’s been a lot easier to come out to his local testing site. 

With the new omicron variant, doctors recommend getting a test relatively soon.

Jones was able to do that while getting in and out of the testing site fairly quick.

“Less than 10 minutes," he said.

The location will be open on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m., but the site will be closed on Christmas Day.

Normal hours for the testing site run until 6 p.m.