Leesburg Center Receives $286K To Expand Coronavirus Testing

LEESBURG, VA — HealthWorks for Northern Virginia in Leesburg is receiving $286,249 in federal funding to expand testing for the coronavirus at its facility, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine announced Friday. The grant was awarded as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Expanding Capacity for Coronavirus Testing program.

HHS provided Virginia with $7.6 million in funding to expand coronavirus testing at 26 health centers across the state.

"We must expand testing capacity for COVID-19 in Virginia and across the country," Warner and Kaine said Friday in a statement. "This federal funding will directly help health centers in Virginia achieve this. We will keep working to ensure that health centers receive the support they need to serve Virginians during this emergency."

HealthWorks, a nonprofit community health center, provides medical, dental and behavioral health care services to patients of all ages, regardless of income or insurance status.

Dr. Karen Remley, a former state health commissioner who is helping lead Virginia's testing task force, stated at a news conference Friday that she hopes Virginia to be testing 10,000 people a day for the coronavirus by the end of next week. She says capacity continues to increase, and the state is working with health centers, pharmacies and other facilities.

As of Friday, 1,070 people had tested positive for the coronavirus and 29 people had died in Loudoun County from the COVID-19 disease caused by the virus, according to the Virginia Department of Health.