Free community testing for COVID-19 continues.

During the New Year’s holiday, most testing will be available at area pharmacies, drug stores, clinics and urgent care centers. Other testing sites:

• Tuesday, Jan. 4, 9 to 11 a.m., Second Baptist Church of South Richmond, 3300 Broad Rock Blvd.

• Wednesday, Jan. 5, 9 to 11 a.m., Eastern Henrico Recreation Center, 1440 N. Laburnum Ave.; 3 to 6 p.m., Highland Springs Community Center, 16 S. Ivy Ave.

• Friday, Jan. 7, 1 to 3 p.m., Diversity Thrift, 1407 Sherwood Ave.

Call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for more information on testing sites, or go online at vax.rchd.com.

The Virginia Department of Health also has a list of COVID-19 testing locations around the state at www.vdh.virginia.gov/coronavirus/covid-19-testing/covid-19-testing-sites/.

Want a COVID-19 vaccine or booster shot?

Area pharmacies, drug stores, clinics and urgent care centers also offer COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots.

All Richmond and Henrico health district vaccination clinics will be closed for the holiday through Sunday, Jan. 2.

The Community Vaccination Center at Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center, 3001 N. Arthur Ashe Blvd., will be open to offer Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines and booster shots from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30. It will be closed for the New Year’s holiday Friday, Dec. 31, through Sunday, Jan. 2. Beginning Monday, Jan. 3, the Ashe Center will be open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

• Tuesday, Jan. 4, 3 to 6 p.m. – Second Baptist Church of South

Richmond, 3300 Broad Rock Blvd., Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson; 4 to 7 p.m. – Mary Munford Elementary School, 211 Westmoreland Ave., Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

• Wednesday, Jan. 5, 9 to 10:45 a.m. – Henrico West Health Department Clinic, 8600 Dixon Powers Drive, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson; 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. – Boushall Middle School, 3400 Hopkins Road, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

• Thursday, Jan. 6, 1 to 3 p.m. – Richmond Health Department Cary Street Clinic, 400 E. Cary St., Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson; 4 to 7 p.m. – Linwood Holton Elementary School, 1600 W. Laburnum Ave., Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson.

Children ages 5 to 17 may only receive the Pfizer vaccine.

Vaccinations and booster shots are available for all eligible of any age on a walk-in basis. No appointment is needed. However, people may schedule an appointment online at vaccinate.virginia.gov or vax.rchd.com, or by calling (804) 205-3501 or (877) VAX- IN-VA (1-877-829-4682).

VaccineFinder.org and vaccines.gov also allow people to find nearby pharmacies and clinics that offer the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.

The Chesterfield County Health District is offering vaccines and booster shots at the following location:

• Community Vaccination Center, Rockwood Shopping Center (in the former Big Lots store), 10161 Hull Street Road, Midlothian. The center will be open 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 30. The center will close for the New Year’s holiday from Friday, Dec. 31, through Sunday, Jan. 2. Beginning Monday, Jan. 3, the center will be open 10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are encouraged by going to www.vaccines.gov or call (877) VAX-IN-VA.

Those who are getting a booster shot should bring their vaccine card to confirm date and type of vaccine received.

A peak of 12,112 new cases of COVID-19 was reported statewide Wednesday for the 24-hour period, making it the highest single-day case count since COVID-19 first emerged in Virginia in early 2020.

The new cases contribute to an overall state total of 1,087,400 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic’s outbreak. As of Wednesday, there have been 41,337 hospitalizations and 15,541 deaths statewide. The state’s seven-day positivity rate reached 17.4 percent on Wednesday. Last week, the positivity rate was 10 percent.

Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced this week a shortened isolation and quarantine period for those infected with COVID-19. According to the new guidelines, those infected with the virus should isolate only five days, down from 10 days, as long as they don’t have symptoms. They also should wear a mask around others for another five days after leaving quarantine.

CDC officials attributed the change to new research showing that the now-dominant omicron variant is most transmissible two days before and three days after the onset of symptoms.

Reports continue both nationally and locally of shortages of COVID-19 tests, with Richmond area libraries and health district experiencing a greater demand for at-home and in-person tests for the virus. A free community test site at the Eastern Henrico Recreation Center held by the Richmond and Henrico health districts closed an hour after opening on Wednesday because the demand outstripped the number of tests available.

Officials continue to urge people to protect themselves and others by getting vaccinated and getting the booster shot, if eligible, and to wear masks and observe social distancing.

On Wednesday, state health officials reported that 67.4 percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 77 percent of the people have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

State data also show that roughly 1.9 million people in Virginia have received booster shots or third doses of the vaccine.

Among those ages 5 to 11 in Virginia, 221,612 children have received their first shots, accounting for 30.6 percent of the eligible age group in the state, while 154,381 children are fully vaccinated. As of Wednesday, less than 72,000 cases, 470 hospitalizations and six deaths have been recorded among children.

State data also show that African-Americans comprised 22 percent of cases statewide and 24.1 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 13.2 percent of cases and 5.7 percent of deaths.