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Free COVID-19 testing conducted in Steubenville

Photo by Janice Kiaski Tabitha Young of Steubenville fills out information for Stephanie Tyson of Resourceful Clinical Laboratory based in Gastonia, N.C., as part of a free COVID-19 testing event held Wednesday in the green space near Urban Mission Ministries’ Warehouse in Steubenville.

STEUBENVILLE — By late Wednesday afternoon, close to 100 people had taken advantage of free COVID-19 testing, a key reason being “peace of mind,” according to Stephanie Tyson of Resourceful Clinical Laboratory, based in Gastonia, N.C.

RCL partnered with Thompson’s Charities and Urban Mission Ministries to make available the free testing conducted drive-through style in the green space near Urban Mission Ministries Warehouse downtown.

It was open to anyone in Jefferson County, and a doctor’s order was not a requirement to obtain a test.

“It is offered to anyone concerned. They don’t have to be symptomatic. They can come and get free testing,” she said.”

The testing ran from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to Tyson, who grew up in Steubenville, graduating from Mingo High School.

“We’ve been testing all throughout North Carolina and South Carolina, and so we decided to come to Ohio because this is where I’m from,” Tyson said in explaining her involvement. “My parents are here, and mom says, listen, you’ve got to take care of home first, so I decided to come here. I talked with Rev. Ashley (Steele of Urban Mission) and the health director (Nicole Balakos.) They were very helpful, very accommodating and loved the fact that someone wanted to come and do the testing,” Tyson said.

“It’s been very overwhelming,” Tyson said of the response. “We’re close to a hundred, so we started setting up at 7:30 a.m. this morning, and we had cars lined up at 8:15.”

Tyson said she wasn’t surprised by the response.

“No, I’m not, because as we know, across the country we’ve got a lot of health disparities. We have places like Steubenville that maybe don’t have the resources to test so we’re here,” she said.

“People are coming for peace of mind, some of them are afraid of COVID, a lot of individuals don’t know who they’ve been exposed to and then some people have it who are asymptomatic and may be living with someone so it’s about peace of mind,” Tyson said of people’s motivation to get tested.

Tyson anticipates a return for future testing sessions, “hopefully once a month.”

“It’s important to wear a mask,” Tyson responded when asked if there was anything else in particular she would like to get across to readers. “We are giving out a pack of five washable cloth masks, and anyone who gets tested, we give them a pack.”

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