Many houses of worship across the Hudson Valley are taking on a new responsibility in the wake of the pandemic.

Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon and 23 others throughout the state will become testing sites in an effort to control the spread of the virus in underserved communities.

Data from the state Department of Health shows most new coronavirus cases are from zip codes with high African-American and Latino populations.  "Give the community the attention, give the resources. Let's find out the problem. Make our community participants in our own healing," says Dr. W. Franklin Richardson, Senior Pastor at Grace Baptist Church.

Anyone looking to get an infection or antibody test at the Grace Baptist Church must make an appointment ahead of time.