Guilford County, which recently began offering tests for COVID-19 at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro – UNCG – is offering a new opportunity to detect the virus on Friday, May 22 at a new test site.
On Wednesday, May 20, Guilford County health officials announced that testing will be offered at the Windsor Community Recreation Center at 1601 East Gate City Boulevard in Greensboro on Friday, May 22 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The county stresses that, at this event, testing will be done by appointment only – so anyone hoping to be tested at Windsor must call 336-641-7527 beforehand. When someone calls that number, a confidential screening will be conducted to confirm that he or she qualifies for testing under the current county testing guidelines.
At the Windsor Center, only those who fall into “high-risk categories” for COVD-19 will be tested. Some of the qualifying factors include being symptomatic, being a “front-line” emergency or medical worker, being over 65, having medical conditions that put you at risk, or being someone from “historically marginalized populations.”
One good thing about the county’s coronavirus tests is that they’re available regardless of the health insurance status of the person being tested.
The Guilford County Department of Public Health announced the testing at Windsor Center the day after a Guilford County Board of Commissioners work session at which several commissioners, most notably Commissioner Carolyn Coleman, expressed concern that there wasn’t enough testing focused on Guilford County’s African-American community, which she said, was being disproportionally affected by the disease.
At that Tuesday, May 19 work session, county staff informed the board that staff had previously looked at testing at NC Agricultural & Technical State University – NC A&T – however, that parking deck presented logistical problems not found at UNCG’s parking deck, which did eventually become a test site.
Covid-19 is not the only nor even the worst disease to disproportionately affect blacks. Far worse is the disease of unmarried mothers and absent fathers. Throw in a culture that glorifies violence and disdains things like getting an education (acting white) and you have all the makings of a disaster.