Tuesday is World AIDS Day, which is held Dec. 1 each year to spread awareness about the condition.

It’s an opportunity for people all over the world to talk about prevention.

It's also a day for people to show their support for those living with HIV and to remember people who have died.

World AIDS Day was the first global health day, dating back to 1988.

Locally, the Pinellas Planning Partnership hosts an event at Williams Park. There will be food, entertainment, gift bags and free condoms available.

In Tampa, Mayor Bob Buckhorn will be at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. to reopen AIDS Memorial Park, 102 West Hyde Park Place.

To mark World AIDS Day, Vice President Joe Biden will appear at an event with Bono, Stephen Colbert, Miley Cyrus, Trevor Noah and others at Carnegie Hall in New York.

According to the Pinellas County Health Department, one in 10 people locally don't know their status, making events like today's crucial to helping prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.

There will be free screening at Williams Park today and at health departments throughout the area.

Pinellas County health officials said 41 new cases of HIV and AIDS were detected in October alone.

"We are catching some of the older cases that did not get reported," said Beth Sudduth, the county's health department HIV/AIDS Surveillance Team Manager. "But we’re also seeing new cases being reported, so it’s really important for people to get tested and know their status."

And despite the Affordable Care Act, health officials say many of their clients still can't afford the HIV medications they need if they do test positive for the disease.

"It’s life-saving," said Shelley Taylor-Donahue, the county's HIV AIDS Program Coordinator. "If they don’t have medications, then what happens is the virus grows really fast in their body and makes them really sick and they can transmit to other people a lot easier. So if we can get them on medications and into treatment, they can live long happy healthy lives for as long as anybody else."

The event starts at 11 a.m. at Williams Park.

Meanwhile, free testing through the Pinellas Planning Partnership will offer rapid testing, which requires a quick finger stick and produces results within 20 minutes.

Free HIV/AIDS testing in the Bay area

Tuesday: Pinellas County

• Williams Park, 330 Second Ave. N, St. Petersburg; from noon to 4 p.m.

• 205 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N, St. Petersburg; from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• 6350 76th Ave. N, Pinellas Park; from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• 8751 Ulmerton Road, Largo; from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• 310 N Myrtle Ave., Clearwater; from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• 301 S Disston Ave., Tarpon Springs; from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tuesday: Pasco County

• Florida Department of Health in Pasco County, 10841 Little Road, New Port Richey; from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Friday: Hillsborough County

• Hillsborough County Health Department, 1105 E Kennedy Blvd., Tampa; from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.