Free community testing for COVID-19 continues.

During the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, most testing will be available at area pharmacies, drug stores, clinics and urgent care centers.

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 COVID19 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?

Area pharmacies, drug stores, clinics and urgent care centers also offer COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots.

All Richmond and Henrico health district vaccination clinics will be closed for the holidays from Friday, Dec. 24, through Sunday, Jan. 2.

The Community Vaccination Center at Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, 3001 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., will be closed for the holiday from Thursday, Dec. 23, through Monday, Dec. 27. It will reopen to offer Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines and booster shots from 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28, and Wednesday, Dec. 29, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30. It will be closed for the New Year’s holiday Friday, Dec. 31, through Sunday, Jan. 2.

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) VAXIN-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 closed for the holiday from Thursday, Dec. 23, through Monday, Dec. 27. It will be open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 28, and Wednesday, Dec. 29, and from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30. The center will close for the New Year’s holiday from Friday, Dec. 31, through Sunday, Jan. 2.

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.

Virginia health officials reported 5,972 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday during a 24-hour period. It was the highest singleday case count in nearly the entire year, matched or eclipsed only by COVID-19 case counts in January.

Officials attributed the surge to the fast-spreading omicron variant, which now accounts for more than 70 percent of new cases in the United States. Health officials are urging caution during the holidays because the rise nationally in cases, including breakthrough cases affecting people who have been fully vaccinated against the virus, and those who are immunocompromised and those under age 5 who are too young to receive a vaccine.

With Wednesday’s case count, Virginia has had more than 1,034,100 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic’s outbreak in 2020. As of Wednesday, there have been 40,071 hospitalizations and 15,224 deaths statewide. The state’s seven-day positivity rate was 10 percent. Last week, the positivity rate was 8.7 percent.

On Wednesday, state health officials reported that 67.1 percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 76.5 percent of the people have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

State data also show that roughly 1.8 million people in Virginia have received booster shots or third doses of the vaccine.

Among those ages 5 to 11 in Virginia, 212,112 children have received their first shots, accounting for 29.3 percent of the eligible age group in the state, while 144,704 children are fully vaccinated. As of Wednesday, less than 70,000 cases, 456 hospitalizations and six deaths have been recorded among children.

State data also show that African-Americans comprised 21.8 percent of cases statewide and 24.2 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 13.3 percent of cases and 5.6 percent of deaths.

As of Wednesday, Richmond reported a total of 26,779 positive cases, 980 hospitalizations and 382 deaths; Henrico County, 38,552 cases, 1,288 hospitalizations and 745 deaths; Chesterfield County, 44,195 cases, 1,253 hospitalizations and 596 deaths; and Hanover County, 13,463 cases, 394 hospitalizations and 205 deaths.