COVID-19 tests popular on Christmas as Florida hits new virus record

ORLANDO, Fla. — (AP) — Florida hit a new record in the pandemic for the second day in a row as the state reported 32,850 daily new cases on Saturday.

Only a day earlier, with 31,758 new daily cases reported, Florida broke its previous record of more than 27,000 cases set in August during the height of the delta wave in Florida.

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The current surge is being driven by the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.

The swelling number of virus cases has created a demand for COVID-19 tests, even on Christmas Day when tests were almost as popular as eating ham or drinking eggnog-like coquito, for some.

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Hours before a testing site opened at Tropical Park in Miami, dozens of cars lined up along a road leading to its entrance.

The testing site was open from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, and two other sites in Miami-Dade County were open on Christmas Day.

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To help alleviate demand, county workers distributed 12,500 at-home COVID-19 test kits Friday at Miami-Dade libraries before supplies ran out.

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