COVID-19 testing
4/30/2020, 6 p.m.
We appreciate that city health officials are now announcing the days and locations for COVID-19 testing for people in the city’s public housing communities.
We believe not giving people that basic, but important information created an artificial barrier to testing for a population at high risk and who are disproportionately being impacted by the coronavirus.
City health district officials have reported that all but one of the 14 deaths in Richmond from COVID-19 were African-Americans, an overwhelming percentage in a city that is 47.8 percent African-American.
As more details have been released to the public, the number of people showing up at the city health district’s testing events have grown. Last week, 69 people were tested at Southwood Apartments in South Richmond, the city’s first event targeted to the underserved population. On Tuesday, 115 people were tested at Creighton Court. Mayor Levar M. Stoney, City Council President Cynthia I. Newbille and Gov. Ralph S. Northam showed up early to tour the operation.
We hope the number of people tested will continue to grow. We urge people to participate in the free testing events. It will help protect individuals and their fami- lies and curb the community spread of this dangerous and fatal virus.
