As free COVID-19 testing continues in Blair County, local leaders ask public to help stop the spread

The number of cases has more than doubled in the county since the beginning of November.

• Anne Danahy
  BioRecent Stories

  

  Anne Danahy has been a reporter at WPSU since fall 2017. She was a reporter for nearly 12 years at the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pennsylvania, where she earned a number of awards for her coverage of issues including the impact of natural gas development on communities.
  
  She earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and a master's in media studies from Penn State.
  
  She worked as a writer at Penn State, including with the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute. She’s a volunteer host at C-NET, Centre County's government-education access station.

 Lynne Sladky / AP Photo

In this Friday, July 17, 2020 file photo, health care workers take information from people in line at a walk-up COVID-19 testing site during the coronavirus pandemic in Miami Beach, Fla.

(Altoona) – As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Blair County, local leaders are encouraging residents to follow precautions and take advantage of the free testing the state Department of Health has set up at the Blair County Convention Center.

Bruce Erb, chairman of the Blair County Commissioners, said the site at the Convention Center has been very busy — 500 to 600 tests a day.

The clinic, which offers drive-through and indoor testing, opened Nov. 15 and will be open Monday and Tuesday.

“I’m pleased that our residents are responding, that the populace is concerned enough they’re going out and getting themselves tested,” Erb said.

In Blair County, the number of cases has more than doubled since the beginning of November. On Sunday, it passed 3,300, according to the state Department of Health.

“I see the trend. I see the trend statewide. It’s still continuing to accelerate rapidly,” Erb said. “And it’s a huge concern. I wish I could tell you, ‘We’re going to turn the corner and things are going to be better next week,’ but they’re not.”

Instead, the holidays, when people travel and congregate, are approaching, along with deer rifle hunting season.

“When you’re hunting, you’re fine, you’re in the woods. But when you’re back at camp, it’s a little more difficult,” Erb said. “There are things like that that culturally we need to look at this and say how can we do this differently, so that we’re still able to enjoy an activity we enjoy, but not doing it so we’re putting ourselves and others in any sort of peril.”

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