Free community testing for COVID-19 continues.

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

• Thursday, Aug. 25, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. - Fulton Neighborhood Resource Center, 1519 Williamsburg Road.

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:

• Thursday, Aug. 25 & Sept. 1, 1 to 4 p.m. - Richmond Henrico Health District, 400 E. Cary St., Pfizer for ages 6 months and older, Moderna for ages 6 months to 5 years old and ages 18 years and older, appointments only.

• Tuesday, Aug. 30, 9 a.m. to noon, Henrico East Health Department, 1400 N. Laburnum Ave., Pfizer for ages 6 months and older, Moderna for ages 6 months to 5 years old and ages 18 years and older, appointments only.

• Wednesday, Aug. 31, 1 to 4 p.m., Henrico West Health Department, 8600 Dixon Powers Dr., Pfizer for ages 6 months and older, Moderna for ages 6 months to 5 years old and ages 18 years and older, appointments only.

People can schedule an appointment online at vase.vdh.virginia.gov, 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.

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

RHHD also offers at-home vaccinations by calling (804) 205-3501 to schedule appointments.

In addition, CrossOver Healthcare Ministry will be providing an immunization opportunity ahead of the new school year, through its Evening Vaccine Clinic on Thursday, Sept. 1, at its Henrico clinic at 8600 Quioccasin Road. Appointments are required, and those interested should call them at (804) 655-2794 and select option six.

New COVID-19 cases in Virginia decreased by roughly nine percent, according to the Virginia Department of Health, while data from the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association showed hospitalizations statewide fell by 1 percent.

As of last Thursday, the counties of Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover have dropped to medium levels of community COVID-19, while the city of Richmond remains at high community COVID-19 levels.

A total of 2,915 new cases of COVID-19 were reported statewide Wednesday for the 24-hour period, contributing to an overall state total of 2,022,778 cases in Virginia since the pandemic’s outbreak. As of Wednesday, there have been 453,964 hospitalizations and 21,310 deaths statewide. The state’s seven-day positivity rate dropped to 21.5 percent on Wednesday. Last week, the positivity rate was 22.6 percent.

On Wednesday, state health officials reported that 72.2 percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 82.4 percent have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

State data also showed that nearly 3.7 million people in Virginia have received booster shots or third doses of the vaccine.

Among ages 5 to 11 in Virginia, 333,374 have received their first shots as of Tuesday, accounting for 46 percent of the age group in the state, while 289,105 children, or 39.9 percent, are fully vaccinated and 45,774 children have received a third vaccine dose or booster, making up 6.3 percent of that age group.

On Wednesday, 38,682 children from the ages of 0 to 4 have received the first doses, making up 8.5 percent of the population in Virginia, while 8,757 are fully vaccinated, or 1.9 percent of the population. As of Wednesday, fewer than 169,000 cases, 1,018 hospitalizations and 15 deaths have been recorded among children in the state.

State data also shows that African-Americans comprised 22.1 percent of cases statewide and 22.9 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 11.2 percent of cases and 4.9 percent of deaths.

As of Wednesday, Richmond reported a total of 54,968 cases, 1,182 hospitalizations and 529 deaths; Henrico County, 79,829 cases, 1,589 hospitalizations and 990 deaths; Chesterfield County, 88,404 cases, 1,609 hospitalizations and 798 deaths; and Hanover County, 25,594 cases, 757 hospitalizations and 311 deaths.

Compiled by George Copeland Jr.