Free community testing for COVID-19 continues.

The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are offering testing at the following locations:

• Tuesday, Dec. 7, 9 to 11 a.m., Second Baptist Church of South Richmond, 3300 Broad Rock Blvd.

• Wednesday, Dec. 8, 9 to 11 a.m., Eastern Henrico Recreation Center Pavilion, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave.

Appointments are not necessary, but can be made by calling the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or by registering online at https://bit.ly/RHHDCOVID.

Testing will be offered while test supplies last.

COVID-19 testing also is available at various drug stores, clinics and urgent care centers throughout the area for people with and without health insurance. Several offer tests with no out-of-pocket costs.

A list of area COVID-19 testing sites is online at https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/richmond-city/richmond-and-henrico-area-covid-19-testing-sites/

The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID-19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh. virginia.gov/coronavirus/covid-19-testing/covid-19-testing-sites/.

Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot?

The Richmond and Henrico health districts are offering free walk-up COVID-19 vaccines at the following locations:

• Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. – Community Vaccination Center, Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, 3001 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

• Thursday, Dec. 2, 1 to 4:30 p.m. – Richmond Health Department Cary Street Clinic, 400 E. Cary St., Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

• Friday, Dec. 3, 9 a.m. to noon – Henrico West Health Department Clinic, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

• Saturday, Dec. 4, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. – Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, 1000 Mosby St., and Fairfield Middle School, 5121 Nine Mile Road, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

• Tuesday, Dec. 7, 3 to 6 p.m. – Second Baptist Church of South Richmond, 3300 Broad Rock Blvd., Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

• Wednesday, Dec. 8, 1 to 4:30 p.m. – Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave., Eastern Henrico, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

• Thursday, Dec. 9, 1 to 4:30 p.m. – Richmond Health Department Cary Street Clinic, 400 E. Cary St., Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

Children ages 5 to 17 may only receive the Pfizer vaccine.

Vaccinations and booster shots are available for all eligible of any age on a walk-in basis. No appointment is needed. However, people may schedule an appointment online at vaccinate.virginia.gov or vax.rchd.com, or by calling (804) 205-3501 or (877) VAX-IN-VA (1-877-829-4682).

VaccineFinder.org and vaccines.gov also allow people to find nearby pharmacies and clinics that offer the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.

The Chesterfield County Health District is offering vaccines and booster shots at the following location:

• Community Vaccination Center, Rockwood Shopping Center (in the former Big Lots store), 10161 Hull Street Road, Midlothian. The center is open 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are encouraged by going to www.vaccines.gov or call (877) VAX-IN-VA.

Those who are getting a booster shot should bring their vaccine card to confirm date and type of vaccine received. Health officials once again are urging people to get vaccinated and to get a booster shot with the discovery of the new Omicron variant of COVID-19. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday that the first confirmed U.S. case of the highly transmissible variant has been detected in California.

The variant was first identified recently by scientists in South Africa and has turned up in several other countries including Canada. Officials are continuing to learn about the impact of the new variant and are testing the effectiveness of the current vaccines against it. They also are urging people to continue to use other measures to protect against COVID-19, including wearing masks, handwashing, physical distancing and indoor ventilation.

The Virginia Department of Health reported on Wednesday 2,413 new positive cases of COVID-19 around the state during a 24-hour period, bringing the cumulative total to 971,529 cases statewide. There have been a total of 39,782 hospitalizations and 14,730 deaths. The state’s seven-day positivity rate was 6.7 percent. Last week, the positivity rate was 5.8 percent.

On Wednesday, state health officials reported that 65 percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 74.5 percent of the people have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

State data also shows that roughly 1.26 million people in Virginia have received booster shots or third doses of the vaccine.

Among those ages 5 to 11 in Virginia, 162,646 children have received their first shots, accounting for 22.5 percent of the eligible age group in the state. As of Tuesday, less than 64,000 cases, 540 hospitalizations and six deaths have been recorded among children.

State data also show that African-Americans comprised 22.1 percent of cases statewide and 24.5 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 13.6 percent of cases and 5.7 percent of deaths.