If you think you may have coronavirus symptoms, there are now more sites where you can get tested in the D.C. area.
A new public testing site opened Thursday in D.C., at the University of the District of Columbia’s Bertie Backus Campus. The site at 5171 South Dakota Ave. NE will be open Tuesday and Thursday for walk-up or drive-thru patients with appointments.
In Montgomery County, a testing site opened in Wheaton on Wednesday. A site will open in Germantown on Monday.
In Prince George’s County, residents with possible virus symptoms will soon be able to text 911 for help, officials announced Wednesday night. Some residents are waiting too long to seek help and have died of the virus at home, the county executive said Wednesday.
Here’s info about testing sites in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
Coronavirus Testing Sites in DC, Maryland & Virginia
Credit: Anisa Holmes / NBC Washington
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Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Here’s where we are Thursday in the fight against coronavirus in the D.C. area.
As of Thursday morning, 27,933 cases of coronavirus had been diagnosed in the region. D.C. had reported 3,206 cases, Maryland had 14,775 and Virginia had 9,952, including probable cases. At least 1,105 people with the virus died. Go here for full details.
Coronavirus Cases in DC, Maryland and Virginia
COVID-19 cases by population in D.C. and by county in Maryland and Virginia
Source: DC, MD and VA Health Departments
Credit: Anisa Holmes / NBC Washington
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan told residents to expect details Friday of a plan to reopen the state’s economy.
Hogan said Wednesday afternoon that essential steps to containing coronavirus and then reopening the economy fall under four main categories: expanding testing, increasing hospital surge capacity, making personal protective equipment more available and building a robust operation that can trace potential contacts of confirmed coronavirus patients.
The state has already made progress on each of these measures, including by setting up beds for virus patients at University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center, purchasing millions of masks and launching a contact tracing platform called COVID Link.
Ramadan begins Thursday night for most Muslims. Mosques in the D.C. area have daily calls to prayer on Zoom, Facebook and Microsoft Teams, The Washington Post reported. The ADAMS Center in Northern Virginia recently had 17,000 people view a four-hour Ramadan class.
Traffic is light in the D.C. area and some drivers are going wild. Speeding and reckless driving are up, police say. Some drivers have been clocked at 100 mph.
And now something a little cheerful: A member of the D.C. fire department is roaming the District playing the bagpipes.
“I’ve had people cry. I’ve had people lie down in the grass and take a breath of fresh air,” he said.
The mayor of D.C. is scheduled to address the public at 10:45 a.m. You can watch live on NBCWashington.com and in the NBC Washington app.
