With the spread of the omicron variant and the holidays around the corner -- many people in Jacksonville were getting tested for COVID-19 Wednesday.

Tests are only available for existing Mayo Clinic patients, but even then, patients have to qualify under CDC guidelines before a test will be allowed. City officials hope Mayo’s testing can help alleviate the number of people trying to get tested at its federal testing site at Lot J outside the TIAA Bank Stadium. At the Lot J site, only 250 people can be tested per day and results can take longer than 10 days. Dr. Charles Booras said the parameters at the federal testing site is not reasonable. Negative tests results will be sent in a message through the clinic’s online patient services.