The uninsured, in many cases unemployed, people who lined up Wednesday at a Thousand Oaks free clinic for free produce, brown rice and antibody tests may be soldiers in the fight against COVID-19.

As part of a project expanding across Ventura County, patrons of the Westminister Free Clinic's health care and food distribution programs bared their arms for blood draws designed to reveal antibodies showing they once carried the coronavirus.

VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. - Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the County of Ventura said it has been actively working with community partners to obtain antibody tests for the area.

The county said there is a race throughout the nation to acquire point-of-care COVID-19 antibody tests. This antibody testing, which is also called serologic testing or immunity testing, can reportedly reveal whether a person’s immune system has already created a response to the coronavirus.

Santa Rosa Valley real-estate agent Rosemary Allison has been named 2020 Woman of the Year by Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, D-Thousand Oaks.

Irwin recognized Allison for her many efforts to help the community, both through volunteering and raising funds.

Ventura County is looking for donations of face masks and other protective equipment to help health care workers responding to the coronavirus.

This week, the Ventura County Office of Emergency Services began accepting donations at three drop-off locations: Assembly member Jacqui Irwin’s offices in Oxnard and Camarillo and the Ventura County Community Foundation in Camarillo. The county is requesting new and unused surgical masks, N-95 masks, procedure masks, isolation gowns, medical goggles, dracon culture swabs and Tyvek suits.

By Gretchen Wenner in the Ventura County Star

If you have spare protective gear used by medical workers, Ventura County wants it.

On Monday night, officials put out a plea to the public for donations. The request comes as local cases of the new coronavirus continue to rise and four staff members at Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura have tested positive for the virus.