The Coastal Health District, in conjunction with the Georgia AIDS Coalition, will offer free HIV testing on World AIDS Day. All testing will be done from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 1 at Forsyth Park in Savannah. Needles will not be used, and confidential results will be available within 20 minutes. A candlelight vigil will be at 6 p.m.
 “A major component of preventing the spread of HIV is testing people so that they will know their status,” Coastal Health District HIV Director Susan Alt said.
“This event will make it possible for people who don’t know their status to get tested quickly and get any counseling they may need.”
Georgia ranks fifth in the nation for newly diagnosed cases of HIV, and Savannah ranks second in the state for reported cases of HIV. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that one out of five people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States is unaware of his or her HIV status.