Black Doctors Continue Testing At Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Hundreds of cars lined up at Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ on Ogontz Ave in Philadelphia on Friday.
It's been a week-long effort by the group Black Doctors for COVID 19 Consortium. They've been at several churches, but on Friday people say it was a wake-up call when Enon Tabernacle's Pastor Rev. Alyn Waller tested positive.
Many say they don't want to play the guessing game with this deadly virus.
"This thing can happen to anybody. You could be walking around and you don't know you have it," parishioner Shirley Berrian said.
Philadelphia remains far from state threshold to begin reopening
Members of the non-profit Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium are doing everything in their power to flatten the curve and make sure communities most in need get access to testing.
The week kicked off with long lines at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. Mt Airy Church of God in Christ was no different
"This is a three, four-day-old operation and each day it's like opening an army field hospital, but our doctors are really rising up and standing up for our community," the Rev. Marshall Mitchell with Salem Baptist Church said.
Many in the community right now were shaken up after hearing Enon's Pastor Waller tested positive and showed no symptoms.
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"I heard about the testing being done at Enon Monday and then when I heard about Pastor Waller and that he was positive and didn't have any symptoms, I just wanted to come out and make sure that I didn't have it being around my family," Kathy Parks said.
"I do have a slight cough just like yesterday the Rev. Waller he found out that he was positive and he didn't have any symptoms so that put a little fear in me," Berrian said.
Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium says they've got their work cut out for them and they won't stop providing free testing until the government provides the service.
"We can't wait for our mayor and other institutions to do this so we're doing it, we know there's a plan, we know they're going to be rolling things out but we're doing what we can do right now," Mitchell said.
You can follow the Black Doctors COVI-19 Consortium Facebook Page where they announce which church they will be at next.
They say there will be another site Sunday around church time.
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