MAUMEE, Ohio — Lucas County residents are doing their part at slowing the spread of COVID-19.
More than 9,500 free testing kits were handed out on Thursday at the Lucas County Recreation Center in Maumee ahead of the holidays.
Anyone wanting to get tested ahead of the holidays pulled into the rec center, told a volunteer how many tests they needed and went on their way.
The Lucas County Health Department has a total of 20,000 Grab & Go COVID-19 rapid antigen tests to give away.
Health commissioner Eric Zgodzinski said being able to get tested before gathering for the holidays is an extremely important tool in the tool box at slowing the spread of the virus.
"If you remember correctly at the beginning of the pandemic, testing was a real concern," he said. "Some countries tested their way out of their issues and we weren't able to. We now have the capability to have tests and we should use those to make sure we're not infected before we go to those parties and to visit family and friends."
Zgodzinski said with cases on the rise and the omicron variant being a concern, it's important everyone does their part to slow the spread of the virus.
"With the delta variant as infectious as it is, we're seeing those cases right now," Zgodzinski said. "We expect then to have concerns after the holiday. Omicron is coming in. We know that and we're seeing that in other countries. But we're already experiencing, I think I read today 3% of the cases are now omicron, in the United States."
The health department planned to distribute tests again on Friday, but ran out out of supplies.