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Marion County gets another drive-through COVID-19 testing location

Credit: Marion County Health Department
Credit: Marion County Health Department

The Marion County Health Department has announced a second drive-through COVID-19 testing location as cases continue to surge and demand has more than doubled at the existing test site.

The new site at the Florida Horse Park south of Ocala will open Wednesday morning. It will have free testing Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Statlab Mobile is offering it at no cost to the county. And results from these diagnostic PCR tests should come back -- via email -- in 36 to 48 hours.

The Health Department's current drive-through location at the Southeastern Livestock Pavilion in Ocala will still be available most Mondays and Wednesdays through September. 

The demand there for tests has risen from 406 on August 4th to 874 last Wednesday.

That reflects a continuing surge in new cases. Marion County averaged more than 400 new positive tests per day last week. And test positivity hit a new high at 30 percent.

Joe Byrnes came to Central Florida Public Media from the Ocala Star-Banner and The Gainesville Sun, where he worked as a reporter and editor for several years. Joe graduated from Loyola University in New Orleans and turned to journalism after teaching. He enjoys freshwater fishing and family gatherings.