Health officials say Orange County COVID-19 testing is ‘skyrocketing’ as free rapid testing is set to arrive next week

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Free rapid COVID-19 testing is coming to Orange County as the county has seen a spike in new cases.

The rapid testing is for antigens. Orange County will be the only local county to offer the rapid testing.

Before, the antigen tests were offered by the state or health facilities.

READ: Coronavirus: US surpasses 100K single-day COVID-19 cases for 1st time since pandemic began

The tests are important because some people don’t show symptoms of COVID-19. The test will tell people if they have COVID-19, which allows for better data collection.

The county will start offering the test Monday.

“Beginning Monday, we’re going to bring a rapid testing capability and it’s going to be very large,” said Danny Banks, Orange County public safety director. “We’re going to open Monday through Friday. Our goal is to be able to test up to 4,000 people per week.”

READ: Coronavirus: Third-grader’s ‘Jesus loves me’ face mask sparks lawsuit

The White House coronavirus task force report indicated that Florida is in the red zone for COVID-19, which is important because local decisions are data driven.

But Banks said they crunch numbers every day and know where the county is and where it could be headed.

The county is doing about 1,200 tests at the convention center.

READ: 'We need to follow the science’: Florida doctors push for statewide mask mandate as another possible COVID-19 surge looms

Banks called the number “skyrocketing," saying the number is three times what they have seen in the last few weeks.

Coronavirus: US surpasses 100K single-day cases for 1st time since start of pandemic (NCD)

Cox Media Group