HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- The mass community testing site at the Richmond Raceway is officially closed. Health officials said weeks of slipping testing demand refocused their effort, and they will now utilize mobile testing clinics instead.
“Testing demand has completely slid off again,” said Jessica Coughlin, the Emergency Manager for the Richmond-Henrico Health District. “The Raceway capacity, although exceeded at the beginning of this testing surge, is now only at about 20-percent.”
Instead, RHHD is in the final planning stages of a mobile testing model, where a large van will be set up in multiple locations each week. Officials are targeting locations that are easy to reach for the general public.
“A lot of the places we go will be with our community partners, our faith-based organizations, we are in conversations with the libraries, to bring the van where people are already going for the needs that they have,” Coughlin said.
After administering thousands of tests and COVID vaccines over the past few years, Coughlin said the lessons learned will help them quickly redeploy mass testing sites should it become necessary.
New cases caused by the omicron variant appear to have peaked in Virginia and testing demand statewide has plummeted in recent weeks, which follows record high testing demand at the very beginning of 2022. Still, Coughlin said she has a very personal reason for urging Virginians to not completely let their guard down.
“Unfortunately, I ended up with COVID. My son is a year old; he ended up with COVID and the flu,” she said. “If you’re sick, stay home. If you don’t feel well, stay home. If your kids are sick, as hard as it is, keep them home.”
You can visit https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/richmond-city/ for testing clinics near you.
