MANSFIELD — Free pop-up COVID-19 testing will be provided Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Richland County Fairgrounds, provided by the State of Ohio, Richland Public Health and local community organizations.
The event at the 750 N. Home Road site will be able to provide between 800 and 1,000 tests, according to local organizers.
The request for the pop-up testing was made in July by Angel Singleton and Brigitte Coles, co-founders of the local group We ACT.
Singleton also works for the City of Mansfield Parks & Recreation Department and Coles is a community engagement specialist for Richland County Children Services.
“We recognize the need in Richland County for increased COVID testing especially among our underserved communities. Our hope is to reach the black and brown community, the homeless, senior citizens, veterans, underinsured, and the uninsured,” the duo said in an email to the state July 2.
The testing is open to everyone 2 and older, with or without symptoms, though some form of identification is needed. Minors will need signed consent of a parent/guardian.
It’s a drive-thru clinic and those being tested must remain in their cars. No appointment or medical-provider order is needed.
Tests will be done by members of the Ohio National Guard and quantities may be limited.
Security and traffic control is being coordinated through the Mansfield Police Department and Richland County Sheriff’s Office, according to Reed Richmond, health educator at Richland Public Health.
Coles said Third Street Family Health Services is involved in the effort. She thanked the Richland County Fair Board for making the fairgrounds available for the testing.
Richland Public Health Commissioner Sarah Humphrey said testing is essential to determine community spread of the virus — and also containment.
“Anytime we increase the testing rate, it becomes less of an unknown and more of a quantitative indication of the number of residents, whether symptomatic or non-symptomatic, who actually have the COVID-19 virus and can be potential community spreaders,” she said Monday.
“By knowing their current testing results, these individuals can isolate, if positive, until they are no longer shedding the virus and possibly transmit to an individual at high-risk for hospitalization or even death,” Humphrey said.
Amy Schmidt, director of nursing at RPH, said the testing effort has been a community effort.
“This is truly a group effort and we are proud of the way everyone is working together to make this happen. We are especially thankful for the input and coordination from the Ohio National Guard and from Mako Medical for laboratory coordination and services,” Schmidt said.
In May, Gov. DeWine’s the COVID-19 Minority Health Strike Force issued an interim report that detailed the importance of testing access in communities of color and other high-risk areas.
The free, pop-up testing efforts grew from that report and have included other local community-based organizations i.e., faith-based organizations, community centers, food pantries, etc.
“A lot of people in Richland County want to be tested,” Coles said, “but they don’t have the access or they can’t afford it. This is a great time to do it. Kids are about to go back to school, they want to play sports.
“We love this community and we want to help in any way we can,” she said.
Coles said results should be available within 48 hours of the test.
As of Monday afternoon, according to the Ohio Dept. of Health website, Richland County has had 652 positive COVID-19 tests since the pandemic reached Ohio in March.
The county has seen 89 total hospitalizations since March and recorded 13 deaths due to the virus.
There was a similar pop-up test effort in Crawford County on Monday.
