The Consulate General of Mexico teamed up with Emory University to offer guaranteed COVID-19 testing to the Mexican and Latino communities over the weekend.
Volunteers at the consulate’s Ventanilla de Salud, or health window, acted as interpreters for researchers from the Rollins School of Public Health led by Jodie Guest, vice president of the epidemiology department.
The tests were conducted at the consulate on Chantilly Drive, facing Interstate 85. The consulate said 519 people, including some staff, were “attended to” over Aug. 8-9. It’s not clear whether all of those who received service were tested for the coronavirus.
“With rates of COVID-19 more than three times higher than the state average, testing in the Latino population in Georgia is critical,” Dr. Guest said in an Emory news release. “Emory is thrilled to continue this important collaboration with the Mexican Consulate of Atlanta to offer testing events.”
Mexican Consul General Javier Diaz de Leon, who was on hand for the testing event at the consulate, welcomed the collaboration as a service to the community at a crucial time.
“We are at a critical point in this pandemic and need to ensure that everyone is tested,” Mr. Diaz said in the release.
The event occurred a day before Georgia opened a new “mega-testing” site near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport at 1800 Sullivan Road in College Park. The site is said to have capacity for 5,000 tests per day, offered at no cost to the community. Appointments are encouraged at https://www.doineedacovid19test.com. Learn more at https://dph.georgia.gov.
Emory and the consulate plan to conduct other testing events throughout the state, including one scheduled for Aug. 14-15 at Iglesia Remanso de Paz in Warner Robins.
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