LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — First Baptist Church Bracktown in Lexington hosted a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing site on Saturday.
A steady stream of cars lined up for testing by the church’s front doors from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The church’s Black Male Working Academy hosted the event in partnership with WellCare of Kentucky and Bluewater Diagnostic Laboratory.
“We are reducing barriers for people to go out and get tested and churches are showing their support on the importance of it,” said Linda Bates, a representative with WellCare of Kentucky.
Roszalyn Akins is a co-chair for the Mayor’s Commission for Justice and Equality. She’s also First Baptist Church Bracktown’s Reverend C.B. Akins’ wife.
Akins said by placing a testing site at the heart of the black community, she hopes it will begin breaking barriers in access to healthcare within a community disproportionately affected by the virus.
“In the African American community, the church is still the center of the community and so by going through the church, non-profits and groups that are prominent in the community, I think that will allow trust and more people to take advantage of it,” she said.
Akins also said she hopes to have more opportunities in the future to host free COVID-19 testing sites.
“It’s about saving lives. And as I’ll always say, stay positive and test negative,” she said.
You can find a full list of current testing sites in Lexington on the city’s website.
