Hundreds tested for COVID-19 near Orange County hot spot

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Tuesday’s mobile COVID-19 testing site, the closest that one will get to one of Orange County’s hot spots for the coronavirus in Central Florida, administered more than 200 tests.

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“They were happy to have that opportunity,” Orange County Commissioner Mayra Uribe said. “Clearly this is much more effective than going to the convention site.”

The mobile unit saw at least 60 more people today at South Econ Park than it did at Blanchard Park, as close as the mobile units will get to the 32822 ZIP code, the hotspot for COVID-19 in Central Florida. The testing in the area has been a hot topic because of the number of cases and the community makeup.

Read: Lack of COVID-19 information, resources in Spanish leaves out the largest growing population of Central Florida

The area is more than 60% Hispanic, and county leaders have been worried about a possible language barrier when it comes to information.

“When you look at everything, it's just compounding the problem to be harder to get through, but I'm hopeful today was a step forward,” Uribe said.

Read: Health care center that serves Orange County’s most vulnerable struggles to get COVID-19 test kits

Uribe said she believes more people would have shown up Tuesday if a recording on the Orange County Health Department through the Spanish channel had been correct: It had said you needed symptoms to get tested at the mobile site. That was incorrect.

The only criteria was you had to be at least 18 years old.

On Wednesday, the mobile unit will move to Camping World Stadium. Appointments are encouraged.

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