Free community testing for COVID-19 continues.

The Richmond and Henrico County health districts are providing walk-up testing throughout the area. Call the Richmond and Henrico COVID-19 Hotline at (804) 205-3501 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to find information on testing sites or to make an appointment if desired, or go to www.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?

The Richmond and Henrico health districts are offering free walk-up COVID-19 vaccines at the following locations:

• Thursday, April 7, 2 to 4 p.m., Whitcomb Court Resource Center, 2106 Deforrest St., Pfizer and Moderna.

• Friday, April 8, 4 to 6 p.m., Neighborhood Resource Center Inc. Fulton, 1519 Williamsburg Road, Pfizer and Moderna.

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, but may be scheduled 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.

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

RHHD now offers at-home vaccinations by calling (804) 205-3501 to schedule appointments, which are typically available within two weeks.

XE, a new variant of COVID-19, has been identified in the United Kingdom this week. Officials said the variant is a combination of two existing ones, the BA.1 and BA.2 variants. More than 600 cases of XE have been reported so far, and while preliminary research hints that it could be more infectious than BA.2, much of the variant’s effects or resistance to vaccines is currently unknown.

A total of 932 new cases of COVID-19 were reported statewide Wednesday for the 24-hour period, contributing to an overall state total of 1,673,382 cases of coronavirus since the pandemic’s outbreak. As of Wednesday, there have been 448,716 hospitalizations and 19,789 deaths statewide. The state’s seven-day positivity rate rose to 3.4 percent on Wednesday. Last week, the positivity rate was 3.2 percent.

State health officials reported on Wednesday that 72.8 percent of the state’s population has been fully vaccinated, while 81.5 percent of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

State data also showed that more than 2.9 million people in Virginia have received booster shots or third doses of the vaccine.

Among those ages 5 to 11 in Virginia, 309,063 children have received their first shots, accounting for 42.7 percent of the eligible age group in the state, while 263,496 children, or 36.4 percent, are fully vaccinated and 521 have received a booster shot or third dose. As of Wednesday, fewer than 139,250 cases, 851 hospitalizations and nine deaths have been recorded among children in the state.

State data also show that African-Americans comprised 22.3 percent of cases statewide and 23.2 percent of deaths for which ethnic and racial data is available, while Latinos made up 12 percent of cases and 5.1 percent of deaths.