Photos: Charlottesville church hosting weekly COVID-19 testing

Mount Zion First African Baptist Church is among locations offering free COVID-19 testing. The testing, which will happen indefinitely on a weekly basis, was made possible by an anonymous $250,00 donation that allowed the Virginia Department of Health and UVA Health to collaborate with community partners. Dawn Niles, a community outreach specialist with the University of Virginia Medical Center, said there is a goal to offer free testing to the public four days a week. Niles said there are 100 test available at the Tuesday events at the church and the results would being arriving in about three days.

“We are proud to help expand COVID-19 testing in the Charlottesville community and our region as part of a plan to keep our community safe,” Dr. K. Craig Kent, UVA’s executive vice president for health affairs, said in a news release. “By offering expanded weekly testing we hope to detect the virus early so that we can minimize the likelihood of spread.”

Testing is available from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays at the church, which is located at 105 Lankford Ave. Additionally, testing is available from 5 to 8 p.m. Mondays in Albemarle County at Church of the Incarnation off Hillsdale Drive. The other two testing sites will be determined each week.

Drive-thru and walk-up testing will be available, and no appointments are necessary.