Florida reports 2nd day of 9,000 new COVID-19 cases as long lines form at Orlando’s largest testing site

ORLANDO, Fla. — On Friday, the Florida Department of Health reported 9,085 new coronavirus cases as Thanksgiving holiday travel begins to ramp up.

To date, there have been 923,418 cases of COVID-19 statewide.

>>> CLICK HERE TO TUNE INTO CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS STARTING AT 4 P.M.<<<

Officials reported another 80 deaths linked to the virus. Of the recent deaths, 15 were reported in Central Florida.

READ: ’I’m feeling good & experiencing very mild symptoms’: Sen. Rick Scott tests positive for COVID-19

The state’s death toll now stand at 18,110, according to the Florida Department of Health.

The need for testing has ramped up ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Over the last few days, the Orange County Convention Center has seen long lines for testing.

Officials at the convention center had to close off the test site at 3:30 p.m. Thursday and as many as 50 cars were turned away after they reached their limit on testing for the day.

See Skywitness 9 video of the lines Friday afternoon:

READ: Know before you go: Picking the site for the COVID test you need as demand soars before holidays

A list of COVID-19 testing sites in Orange County can be found here.

In vaccine news, Drugmaker Pfizer announced that it will submit an emergency use authorization request to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Friday for its COVID-19 vaccine.

The submission “will potentially enable use of the vaccine in high-risk populations in the U.S. by the middle to end of December 2020,” according to the release.

READ: Coronavirus: Pfizer to seek emergency use authorization for COVID-19 vaccine today

The news came days after the companies said a final analysis revealed that their COVID-19 vaccine was 95% effective in a clinical trial.

See a county-by-county breakdown of total (and new) cases and deaths below, and click here for an interactive map of cases statewide.

Orange: 53,941 (+557) - 620 (+1)

Osceola: 16,891 (+198) - 239 (+1)

Seminole: 11,993 (+106) - 265 (+4)

Polk: 26,091 (+194) - 657 (+1)

Volusia: 14,811 (+130) - 351 (+0)

Brevard: 14,301 (+189) - 422 (+4)

Flagler: 2,511 (+27) - 41 (+0)

Lake: 9,946 (+74) - 243 (0)

Marion: 12,220 (+159) - 375 (+3)

Sumter: 3,248 (+18) - 92 (+1)

Video: Another busy afternoon at Orange County Convention Center for COVID-19 testing It's another busy afternoon at the Orange County Convention Center's COVID-19 testing site.

Cox Media Group