CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Another free COVID-19 testing event is coming to Chesapeake this week.
The Urban League of Hampton Roads; The Virginia Office Of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Chesapeake Regional Healthcare; the Chesapeake Health Department; community leaders and The Mount Chesapeake are working together to provide free COVID-19 testing to at-risk members of the community during an upcoming event on Thursday, June 18.
After successfully testing in the MacDonald Manor neighborhood in May and the Geneva Square community earlier in June, the next community testing event will take place at The Mount Chesapeake on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The event will provide nasal swab tests for up to 400 people. Anyone who is symptom-free is encouraged to get a test; you don't need to be parishioners of The Mount Chesapeake.
Results will be delivered confidentially in approximately 48 hours.
Testing will take place at 215 Las Gaviotas Boulevard, located just off Cedar Road in Chesapeake. Participants will receive food boxes, hand sanitizer, face masks, and other items through partnerships with the Southeastern Virginia Food Bank, Chesapeake Office of Emergency Management, the governor’s office and other organizations.
Tests and supplies will be offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Participants are encouraged to be patient and practice social distancing.
Janice Underwood, Ph.D., Chief Diversity Officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia and the COVID-19 Equity Task Force, arranged a donation of masks and hand sanitizer for Chesapeake residents who are at elevated risk of death from COVID-19. Bags with masks, hand sanitizer and other items will be provided for all who attend the testing event on Thursday.
Of the state’s involvement, Dr. Underwood says, “As we address the structural inequities that have caused the disparate impact of COVID-19 on black, brown, and native communities, I am pleased to see the collaborative way Chesapeake is working to take care of those that have been historically under-represented. We encourage inclusive efforts like these to help accomplish the much-needed changes we need in our nation and Commonwealth.”
More testing events will follow Thursday's event.
