BATON ROUGE – In honor of National HIV Testing Day, Our Lady of the Lake will be offering free HIV testing Saturday, June 27, from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. at its LSU Health Baton Rouge Mid City campus located at 1401 N. Foster Drive, Baton Rouge.

National HIV Testing day aims to encourage individuals to know their status by getting tested and link them to care and treatment if needed.

The Centers for Disease Control says approximately 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV today and about 14 percent of them don’t realize this and require testing.

According to Healthy BR, The Baton Rouge Metro area has the fourth-highest rate of HIV cases and the third-highest rate of AIDS cases in the country.

The rapid HIV test is done with a finger prick to draw a small amount of blood. Results are given within a few minutes.

Individuals who complete an HIV test may also choose to have a no-cost COVID-19 test done as well.

Those coming for testing will be required to wear a face covering and adhere to social distancing. Please bring a face covering as there will be a limited supply. Tests are available on a first-come, first-served basis and results are kept completely confidential.