Health officials are encouraging residents to get a free HIV test today.

Statistics indicate that since 1985, approximately 2,100 residents have been infected, with three quarters being from the Indigenous population.

Sixty per cent of infections are caused through sharing a dirty injection needle. A test can be performed through a physician, nurse practitioner, local public health office or at testing clinics.

The government says over the past decade, more than 81,000 tests have been performed.

(PHOTO: Health Minister Jim Reiter being tested for HIV. File photo.)