Arlington Opens Walk-Up Coronavirus Testing Facility

ARLINGTON, VA — Starting Tuesday, Arlington residents will have a new place where they can get tested for COVID-19, the illness associated with the new coronavirus.

The county's first walk-up COVID-19 collection site will open its doors at the Arlington Mill Community Center (909 South Dinwiddie St), as a joint effort of the Virginia Hospital Center and the Arlington Free Clinic. The center will operate weekdays between 1-5 p.m.

“Arlington is committed to assuring everyone in our community has access to the testing they need during this pandemic,” said Dr. Reuben Varghese, Arlington Public Health director, in a press release. “This is an important partnership that will help our more vulnerable or low-income groups who do not have access to cars to walk up and get tested.”

As of Monday morning, the Virginia Department of Health confirmed that Arlington had 1,399 cases of COVID-19. Sixty people have died in the county due to the illness and 286 individuals are hospitalized.

Patients will need to obtain a referral from a clinician and make an appointment before visiting the walk-up site. They can do that by calling 703-558-5766. Residents without health care can still obtain an appointment by calling that number.

“This is an exciting effort to create a more equitable testing model for everyone who needs it,” said Nancy White, executive director of Arlington Free Clinic. “This model aligns with our mission to provide high-quality health care to low-income, uninsured Arlington residents through the generosity of donors and volunteers.”

Arlington County Health Department and Virginia Hospital Center and the Virginia Hospital Center opened a drive-thru testing site March 18 at 1429 N. Quincy St.

“Virginia Hospital Center is happy to lend the expertise we have gathered from the North Quincy drive-through site to support the efforts at Arlington Mill,” said James Meenan, Director of the VHC Outpatient Lab. “Our primary focus is always the health and safety of our community and increasing access to testing is a critical step forward in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Also see ...

• VA Coronavirus Cases Exceed 25,000; Hospitalizations Decline
• Arlington Lab Collects 1,484 Coronavirus Samples In First 30 Days
• Arlington Coronavirus Test Sample Collection Site Starts Work