452 people were tested for COVID-19 Saturday at a drive-up testing event at the Schoenbaum Family Enrichment Center in Charleston Saturday. Another 385 were tested there Friday.
The testing, sponsored by the Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs, with support from the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources and the West Virginia National Guard, was free and open to the general public with a focus on testing minorities and other vulnerable populations.
“Saturday was the 12th drive-up testing event that Kanawha-Charleston Health Department has helped with. Friday and Saturday were the first testing events that were open to the general public with no signs of disease. Testing people without symptoms is an important step in stopping the spread of COVID-19 and determining how much of the population has it,” said Dr. Sherri Young, health officer and executive director of the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department.
“We want to thank our partners that helped this be a success – the Kanawha County Commission, City of Charleston, Kanawha County Emergency Ambulance Authority, West Virginia National Guard and West Virginia Air National Guard,” Young said.