Henrico's mass testing site at VCC concludes with encouraging results

On Tuesday, Henrico County concluded its two-week outdoor COVID-19 testing clinic at Virginia Center Commons, through which more than 2,000 people – including Henrico’s first-responders and their spouses and partners, as well as front-line employees from other localities and businesses – were tested both for the virus and for antibodies to it.

The results through Monday night were exceedingly encouraging: only 10 positive test results among the 1,947 people who been tested at that point (about half of 1 percent) – five of whom had negative results on their second tests.

Also as of Monday night, 39 people (or about 2 percent) had tested positive for early antibodies to the virus, while 17 (just less than 1 percent) had tested positive for late antibodies, indicating that they had been infected but already recovered from the virus.

Officials will have final data tomorrow reflecting all 2,051 tests given at the site, according to Henrico Chief of Staff Cari Tretina.

Henrico was the first locality in the state and perhaps one of the first in the nation to establish a mass testing site for its employees and others. The endeavor cost the county about $470,000, although most other participating localities and businesses will reimburse Henrico for their portions of the tests, and county officials hope to receive some additional reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. (Henrico absorbed the costs of tests conducted for employees of Medicaid-funded nursing homes.)

This chart shows the number of people tested at the Virginia Center commons testing site and the number of positive results among them, through May 4 at 5 p.m. (Courtesy Henrico County)

County Manager John Vithoulkas told the Citizen Tuesday that the county entered the process open-minded about what it might reveal.

“I really didn’t have an expectation,” he said. “Our thought was to follow the guidance that was put out, which was ‘test, test test.’ But it bodes well as far as some of the measures that have been taken. The county’s been very careful as far as the approach with our employees.”

In total, 558 general government employees and their spouses or partners were tested at the VCC site, as were 484 Henrico Police officials and spouses or partners and 320 Henrico Fire officials and spouses or partners. Other participating county agencies including the public school system, the sheriff’s office, and security officers.

Outside groups that participated included the Virginia Retirement System, GRTC, Richmond International Airport, Dinwiddie County, the Little Sisters of the Poor, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Richmond Region Tourism, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management and Lake Monticello Fire and Rescue.

Separate from the VCC testing site, Henrico has worked county health director Danny Avula to provide testing through Henrico-based GENETWORx for residents of a number of the nursing homes and senior facilities in the county.

This chart shows the number of people tested at the Virginia Center Commons testing site through May 4 and through May 5, as well as their agency or company affiliation. (Courtesy Henrico County)

Vithoulkas and other Henrico officials now have their sights set on conducting another round of testing in several weeks. They’re in talks with the state and some other regional partners, Vithoulkas said, potentially to conduct testing for more local and state employees – and possibly some at-risk citizens – at county sites. He is hopeful that by Friday, the framework will be in place for what he’s calling “phase two” of mass testing.

“But,” he said, “in order to do a phase two, we’ve got to have other partners bearing significant costs that are involved. By doing phase one, we think we definitely have the interest of the commonwealth and some others.”