ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — As the omicron variant continues to surge across the country, many people in Central Florida are turning to public sites for COVID-19 testing. With no state sites in place, local leaders are establishing sites to meet that testing demand.

Village Square in Orlando opens Monday, the latest COVID-19 testing site in Orange County. It will operate from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., seven days a week. 

More testing options are needed in west Orange County, and state Sen. Randolph Bracy (D-District 11) said that’s why he’s making that happen at Village Square. Bracy said this will be just the first of multiple new sites for the west Orange County area.

At times, individuals seeking tests must wait in line for hours at three county-run sites at Barnett Park, the Econ Soccer Complex and South Orange Youth Complex and the city of Orlando site at Camping World Stadium.

“There are some good companies out there that want to help, and so once I called, they were willing to step up to the plate so I’m thankful for that,” Bracy said. “But it’s unfortunate that the state wouldn’t step up and do what they were supposed to do. But either way, the testing is here and we’ll have vaccinations, and I encourage everyone to get one. We’ll just make sure everyone is protected and healthy.”

Last week, Orange County reported a 35% positivity rate for COVID-19. Statewide, the Florida Department of Health reported a 26% positivity rate. The state logged 289,000 new cases of COVID-19 for the week of Jan. 14, a decline from the previous week when Florida reported 430,000 new cases.