City of Arlington , Texas Fiscal Year 2020
COVID-19 testing was also a priority . In April , the City opened the first of three drive-through testing sites , which ultimately provided about 77,000 tests to Tarrant County residents by the end of December . The Arlington Fire Department , which completed state-mandated COVID-19 testing in all licensed nursing facilities in the city limits in May , also provided assistance for other Tarrant County communities that needed to test nursing facility staff and residents .
But even in the face of uncertainty and hard times , there was no shortage of kindness and compassion on display throughout the city .
The community rallied to support restaurants and small businesses through deliveries and curbside pickups , donated face masks and PPE to essential workers in need , participated in blood drives and food drives , and made gifts large and small to front-line workers , local nonprofits working tirelessly to help those suffering during the pandemic . The community ’ s generosity meant that more than $ 448,000 was raised for Arlington nonprofits during North Texas Giving Tuesday Now in the spring and $ 2 million was raised during North Texas Giving Day in the summer .
More good news came at the end of the year with the emergency approval of COVID-19 vaccines . The Arlington Fire Department purchased refrigeration equipment , partnered with ambulance provider American Medical Response , and made other logistics preparations necessary to operate a mass vaccination site . Firefighters provided the first vaccinations at the site at Esports Stadium Arlington + Expo Center on December 28 , 2020 .
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