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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowMarion County next week plans to open its first COVID-19 testing site for symptomatic and high-risk community members who have been disproportionally impacted by the virus.
The site is slated to open April 30 at Eastern Star Church, 5750 E. 30th St., in the Arlington Woods neighborhood, which has been identified as a hot spot for the virus in Indianapolis. The 46218 zip code has the highest coronavirus infection rate in the county, Marion County Public Health Department Director Dr. Virginia Caine said Thursday.
The announcement comes days after the department released data that found African Americans in Marion County have been more likely to contract the disease, be hospitalized and even die than white residents. African Americans in Marion County have been three times as likely as whites to be diagnosed with the disease and twice as likely to die, the study says.
Local statistics follow a trend seen across the nation in which minorities are more likely to get sick and then face the most severe consequences of the illness.
The health department will perform the tests on high-risk and symptomatic community members and those working on the front lines, especially in the food industry. To start out, the goal is to perform 1,000 tests a week or 200 a day.
In coming weeks, the Marion County Public Health Department hopes to expand testing to four sites and conduct 3,000 tests a week. Eventually, health leaders hope to be able to test asymptomatic people as well.
The announcement comes one day after state officials acknowledged that testing is still an issue and that there are still people who need a test but haven’t been able to get one.
The local health department has contracted with Indiana University Health to get the tests and will not require a doctor’s note or health insurance.
Eastern Star will offer both drive-thru and walk up testing. An existing Indy Go bus stop in front of the church will make the test site accessible to many, Pastor Jeffrey Johnson said.
Mayor Joe Hogsett said increased testing—plus contact tracing—will offer greater security as local and state officials begin thinking about reopening the economy and returning to daily life. The current stay at home orders are set to expire May 1.
“No one solution will do it all, but today’s announcement brings us even closer to that return,” he said.
Johnson said evidence shows black and brown people are being overlooked during the pandemic. Now people in Marion County with low incomes, no health insurance and no access to a doctor can get tested.
“We’re very, very excited that this community is not being overlooked,” he said. “I’m honored to be part of this. I look forward to seeing what God is going to do …”
Indianapolis City-County Council President Vop Osili said tracking the impact of COVID-19 and increasing testing opportunities for those must vulnerable is sound science and policy.
“It sets Indianapolis on a path that will help us protect our most vulnerable residents from this virus, provide health care access to those that need it, and in doing so, guard against further spread of COVID-19 across our city,” Osili said.
As of April 20, Marion County had 4,052 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 192 deaths. Whites make up 56 percent of the county population, Blacks are 29 percent and Latinos are 11 percent, the study said.
Case investigations conducted by the county health department found 290 confirmed cases per 100,000 for African-Americans compared to 97 cases per 100,000 for Whites. African-Americans in Marion County are 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 (106 per 100,000) than whites (43 per 100,000). African-Americans were dying at twice the rate from COVID-19 (20 deaths per 100,000) than White residents (10.5 deaths per 100,000).
“Chronic health conditions such as heart disease, asthma, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and asthma will put any person at a higher risk for complications from a COVID-19 infection,“ Caine said in a statement about the study. “These health conditions, however, are more prevalent in the African-American community and, as a result, increase their chances of hospitalization and even death from this virus. We must understand this risk and use this information to help prevent infections.”
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