Free community testing for COVID-19 continues.

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

• Community Testing Center, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday to Wednesday, Richmond Raceway, Gate 7, 4690 Carolina Ave. Appointments are required by calling (804) 205-3501 or going online at vase.vdh.virginia.gov

• Thursday, Jan. 27, 2 to 6 p.m. — Southside Plaza WIC Office, 509 E. Southside Plaza. Walk-up testing; no appointment necessary.

• Friday, Jan. 28, 3 to 6 p.m. — Southwood Pool House, Southwood Pkwy & Clarkson Rd. Appointments are required by calling (804) 205-3501 or going online at vase.vdh.virginia.gov

Call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for more information on testing sites, or go online at vax.rchd.com.

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:

• Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. – Community Vaccination Center, Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, 3001 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

• Thursday, Jan. 27, 1 to 4:30 p.m. – Richmond Health Department Cary Street Clinic, 400 E. Cary St., Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson.

• Friday, Jan. 28, 1 to 3 p.m. – Northside YMCA, 4207 Old Brook Road, Pfizer.

• Monday, Jan. 31, 4 to 7 p.m. – J.B. Fisher Elementary School, 3701 Garden Rd, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

• Tuesday, Feb. 1, Noon to 2 p.m., Henrico East Health Department Clinic, 1400 N Laburnum Ave., Pfizer and Moderna; 4 to 6 p.m. - Southwood Resource Center, 1754 Clarkson Road Apartment B, Pfizer and Moderna.

• Wednesday, Feb. 2, 9 to 11 a.m. – Henrico West Health Department Clinic, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

• Thursday, Feb. 3, 1 to 3 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 free testing at the following locations:

• Friday, Jan. 28, 2 to 4 p.m. New Deliverance Evangelistic Church Annex Building, 1701 Turner Road.

Vaccines and booster shots at available at the following location:

• Community Vaccination Center, Rockwood Shopping Center (in the former Big Lots store), 10161 Hull Street Road, Midlothian, 8 a.m. to 6 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. Appointments are required for children ages 5 to 11.

Those who are getting a booster shot should bring their vaccine card to confirm the date and type of vaccine received.

Virginia reported another recent relative drop in cases this week with 7,155 cases reported Monday, though cases began to climb in the following days. The state also reached more than 16,000 deaths from COVID-19 this week, with this dark milestone reached Tuesday.

Gov. Glenn A. Youngkin’s first measures related to COVID-19 went into effect this week, including changes to how masks mandates work, with the impact of these changes on cases not yet clear but already leading to varied approaches across school districts and legal action.

On Tuesday, Pfizer and BioNTech announced the start of clinical trials for an omicron-based COVID-19 vaccine, to be tested initially in adults aged 18 to 55. This news comes as scientists have begun research into a new subvariant of the Omicron strain.

A total of 11,126 new cases of COVID-19 were reported statewide Wednesday for the 24-hour period, contributing to an overall state total of 1,503,119 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic’s outbreak. As of Wednesday, there have been 447,398 hospitalizations and 16,052 deaths statewide. The state’s seven-day positivity rate dropped to 29.1 percent on Wednesday. Last week, the positivity rate was 32 percent.

On Wednesday, state health officials reported that 68.7 percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 78.9 percent of the people have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

State data also showed that nearly 2.4 million people in Virginia have received booster shots or third doses of the vaccine.

Among those ages 5 to 11 in Virginia, 265,253 children have received their first shots, accounting for 36.7 percent of the eligible age group in the state, while 199,788 children are fully vaccinated. As of Wednesday, less than 118,000 cases, 920 hospitalizations and eight deaths have been recorded among children.

State data also show that African-Americans comprised 22.8 percent of cases statewide and 23.7 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 12.6 percent of cases and 5.6 percent of deaths.