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Last week the paper reported that testing for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) would be made available to the public over the course of two days in Franklin. This will be available for both residents in both the city and neighboring Southampton County.

This will come to us courtesy of the Virginia Department of Health, which will perform the free exams on a drive-through format from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Friday at Camp Community College, 100 N. College Drive, and then from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at S.P. Morton Elementary School, 300 Morton St.

The testing will be done on a first-come, first-served basis. We hope that as many residents as possible will take advantage of this opportunity. That could give themselves some knowledge or even peace of mind about their status. This will enable people to make informed decisions about their health, or even the reassurance that they’ve been correctly following social distancing and self-isolation guidelines.

And these days, we all need some reassurance.