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Sen. Chesterfield describes concentrated COVID-19 testing in African American communities
Summary
Senator Chesterfield told the committee mobile testing events in several communities produced high turnout and in one church-based event yielded a roughly 25% positivity rate, prompting calls for more local testing and outreach.
Senator Chesterfield told the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee about targeted testing efforts in African American communities coordinated with UAMS, the Department of Health and local partners.
She recounted mobile testing events in Wrightsville, North Little Rock, Shorter College and locations in Southwest Arkansas that drew hundreds of residents, sometimes exhausting available test kits. At a First Missionary Baptist Church testing site in North Little Rock, Chesterfield reported a positivity rate of about 25%: "25 percent tested positive," she said, and described community demand that outpaced supplies at times.
Chesterfield urged legislators to use their platforms to request testing resources in their districts and to work with faith-based and local organizations to advertise and operate testing sites. Committee members thanked her and said they would seek similar outreach in their districts.
The committee acknowledged the health department, UAMS and local health centers for coordinating the mobile testing events and asked agencies to share lists of locations and plans for future testing to inform state-level support and capacity planning.
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