It was something Walmart shoppers would have never expected to see at the start of the year. But our new normal is all about staying healthy for our friends, family and community.

Last week marked the beginning of COVID-19 testing at the store parking lot in North Warren. Seeing the set up can give a surreal and sometimes uncomfortable experience as those doing the testing are dressed in plastic.

We are quite lucky here. While most of the nation has been fighting the virus in record numbers — with recent spikes being seen in the Sun Belt — our area of the world has had only five cases.

Walmart and Quest Diagnostics are providing the free, drive-up, contactless testing from 7 to 9 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The testing requires pre-registration at least one day in advance and is intended for those who have symptoms or had contact with people who are positive for the virus.

As noted last week, the test determines if patients have the virus, not if they had it and have recovered. “This is an active virus test, not an antibody test,” Walmart Pharmacist Shane Saunders. “A lot of people want to know and they want to know right now.”

These tests are an important step to getting all parts of the nation, including this region, as close to being back to the way things once were.