Health districts will distribute 300 COVID-19 testing kits Thursday at Salem Civic Center | Local News

The health district will give out the free rapid antigen at-home test kits at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Salem Civic Center. Tests will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Because of a large demand for tests, the health district expects the kits will run out quickly, according to a news release.

Health district director Cynthia Morrow said the department will operate free drive-thru testing events from 3-5 p.m. every Tuesday at the Salem Civic Center through January. She said the last few events only drew about two dozen people.

But this past Tuesday more than 200 people came to be tested and the district ran out of supplies, indicating an unprecedented demand for testing, according to the news release.

Because of that demand, the health district will provide the free test kits to anyone who has symptoms or knows they were exposed to a positive case in the previous five days. Individuals will be asked to attest that they meet these criteria before receiving an at-home test kit on Thursday.

Individuals must be present to receive a test kit and the health department will only give one kit per person. Users will need a smartphone to get the test results.

COVID-19 cases have spiked rapidly across the state as people spend the holidays with their families and the latest variant, omicron, begins to spread across the country. Omicron is more easily transmissible than previous variants and has caused large case increases.

The Virginia Department of Health reported 12,112 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, more than twice as many as a week ago and more than on any other day during the pandemic. The previous record was 9,914 on Jan. 17.

Since Christmas, the state has seen 38,064 new COVID-19 cases as the omicron variant has overtaken delta as the dominant strain across the country. 

The first case of omicron was reported in Virginia on Dec. 9 —  20 days ago.

Hospitalizations and deaths increased across the state, too, with 398 people in Virginia hospitalized and 38 deaths from COVID-19 reported Wednesday.

The Roanoke City and Alleghany Health Districts encourage people to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, which can lessen symptoms and make it less likely a person will contract the virus. Visit vaccinate.virginia.gov or call 1-877-VAX-IN-VA to schedule an appointment.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch contributed information to this report.