The Richmond City Health District plans to ramp up testing for coronavirus in neighborhoods that appear to be the most at risk — low-income areas of the city that are home to many African-Americans.

Dr. Danny Avula, director of the health district, announced Monday that testing for COVID-19 will begin at the resource centers of the six largest public housing communities — Creighton Court, Fairfield Court, Gilpin Court, Hillside Court, Mosby Court and Whitcomb Court — in addition to the Southwood Apartments and the Broad Rock Community Center, both in South Side.

He said a schedule will be established for testing at one of those locations each day, with expectations that 100 to 150 people could be tested daily.

Dr. Avula said the state’s testing capacity has expanded, enabling the health district to test people who are asymptomatic as well as those who might be showing symptoms of COVID-19, such as fever, coughing or difficulty breathing.

He said staff also is working with nursing homes and other senior residential communities in a bid to reduce the virus’ spread to a group also considered high risk.

Dr. Avula made the announcement at a briefing Monday at which he and Mayor Levar M. Stoney noted that a majority of people in Richmond testing positive for the virus are African-American.

Based on the numbers as of Monday, there are 164 confirmed cases and seven deaths in Richmond among a population of nearly 230,000 people.

However, of those infected, 62 percent, or 102 people, are African-American; 24 percent, or 40 people, are Caucasian; and about 4 percent are of mixed race or other ethnicities. He said race was not identified for the remaining 10 percent.

According to the most recent federal data, Richmond’s population is 47.8 percent African-American, 40.4 percent Caucasian and 6.7 percent Latino.

“This follows a trend seen across the country,” Mayor Stoney said. “While the virus does not discriminate by race, creed or gender and knows no boundaries, this highlights the disparity in health and health care that has been ever present.”

He said the virus’ impact tends to be greater in poorer communities where there are more underlying health conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, that make people more vulnerable to serious infections.

Mayor Stoney said he did not know when the emergency would end. There have been conflicting projections of when the infections would peak in Virginia, from late April to mid-August, creating uncertainty.

“What we know is that we haven’t yet reached the apex and have not started going downhill,” Mayor Stoney said. “Our best weapon is to stay home if you can, and to wear masks if you cannot and wash your hands thoroughly and often.”

Meanwhile, with schools closed statewide through the end of the academic year, Richmond Public Schools is stepping up its efforts to link students to online learning.

RPS Superintendent Jason Kamras said that along with creating a robust package of educational programming and classes at RPS@home for parents and students to access, the school system this week began distributing laptop computers to students who need them.

He said RPS received 12,000 requests for computers through a survey and will move to fill all of them, starting with high school students. He said distribution to middle school and elementary students would begin next week, with all distributions following health guidelines.

He noted that RPS also is serving 13,000 meals a day Monday through Friday through 55 distribution sites across the city, thanks to staff and volunteers helping to reduce hunger.

Details on RPS food pickup sites: www.rvaschools.net, then click on “Meal Distribution Sites.”