Barnett Park reaches capacity as demand for testing continues to rise

ORLANDO, Fla. — Barnett Park reached capacity early, nine days consecutively before Christmas.

After being closed two days, hundreds of people waited in the dark early this morning, ready to get tested for COVID-19.

The Pierre family was first in line, arriving at 5 a.m.

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Yaree Pierre says they were traveling for Christmas so they didn’t want to take any chances of spreading the virus here in Central Florida.

“We just got back from the plane and everybody was coughing so we really wanted to see if we had COVID,” Pierre said.

This comes as statewide COVID-19 numbers keep ticking higher and higher.

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

Florida hit a new pandemic record on Christmas Day, and for the second day in a row, it reached more than 30,000 cases.

The state broke its previous record of 27,000 during the delta wave in August.

With this increase in demand, it’s been tougher for people to find at-home test kits at pharmacies.

Read: Florida faces nursing shortage as COVID-19 cases continue to climb

Aaliyah Reid says she came early after exhausting other options and she’d do it again just for the sense of safety.

“Honestly, I was expecting it because it was packed before Christmas, and I was like this is my last stop. CVS, Walgreens, all those were booked. Honestly this is the last resort, I’d come here at 3 a.m. if I had to,” Reid said.

Read: Airbnb puts restrictions on New Year’s Eve bookings in Central Florida

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