Hundreds of free COVID-19 tests administered at fairgrounds – Northern Virginia Daily

On Monday, hundreds of free COVID-19 tests were administered at the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds by the Lord Fairfax Health District of the Virginia Department of Health.

The district, which covers Winchester and the counties of Clarke, Frederick, Page, Warren and Shenandoah, was hoping to reach more people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus, said District Health Director Dr. Colin Greene.

By late morning, he said health care workers had administered 150 tests.

Were ready to do 500 tests, he said.

Planning to offer more free tests around the region in the coming weeks, he said they started in Woodstock because of the high number of cases in the county.

Shenandoah County also has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the district, with 484 confirmed cases as of Monday. So far, 50 patients in the county have been hospitalized and 24 have died, the Virginia Department of Health reported at its website, vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus.

Statewide, the VDH was expecting an increase of 2,372 cases on Monday, up from the probable 2,251 cases it reported on Friday.

It expected an increase of 31 hospitalizations on Monday and 104 deaths, compared with Fridays numbers of an additional 30 hospitalizations and 103 deaths statewide.

On Monday, Frederick County was reporting 409 total cases since the pandemic started, including 26 hospitalizations and four deaths.

Page County reported 245 cases so far, with 26 hospitalizations and 24 deaths.

Winchester reported 235 cases, 15 hospitalizations and two deaths.

Warren County reported 220 cases, 14 hospitalizations and four deaths.

Clarke County reported 25 cases, three hospitalizations and no deaths.

Uncertain why numbers were particularly high in Shenandoah County, Greene said reasons could include outbreaks in areas where people are in close contact or instances of people spreading it around the county.

This is a disease of proximity, he said.

Though Shenandoah is largely rural, Greene said that population centers around the county can offer an avenue for the virus to spread.

COVID-19 stands for coronavirus disease 2019, the year it was identified. The virus is spread through saliva and mucous droplets that people spread when they cough, talk, sing or sneeze, Greene said. A person catches the virus by being close to someone when they spread the infection or by touching a surface that has been infected. The virus is then transferred to themselves through the mouth or eyes.

Though the commonwealth has eased up on social-distancing restrictions in recent weeks as the rate of increase has dropped, Gov. Ralph Northam has enforced Phase Two of a multi-phase reopening plan that mandates people wear masks inside public buildings and still maintain 6 feet of distance between each other wherever possible while in public.

Greene said offering free tests is a way of reaching under-served populations that might avoid health care facilities because of financial or travel challenges.

From statistics, we do see that the Hispanic populations around Virginia have gotten a higher number of cases per group than any of the other groups, Greene said. The estimate is somewhere around a third of the cases.

Thats significant, he said, since its so much higher than the percentage of Hispanic people in Virginia. The U.S. Census Bureau reported a 9.6% Hispanic or Latino population in Virginia as of July 1, 2019.

Greene said it could be for cultural or housing reasons that Hispanic populations are more greatly affected by the virus since infected people might be living or working among close family and friends.

The free tests are available to anyone and take less than 10 minutes from the time someone drives up to the time they leave, he said. Patients must register when they arrive so the health department has someone to contact with results, Greene said.

Were not in any way interested in if someone has official [residency] documents, he said. The health department doesnt ask those questions

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Hundreds of free COVID-19 tests administered at fairgrounds - Northern Virginia Daily