Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Expansion Of Rapid COVID-19 Drive-Through Testing In Massachusetts Announced by Baker-Polito Administration, CVS
The Baker-Polito Administration and CVS announced the launch of a new rapid testing site in Lowell, which will enable on-the-spot COVID-19 testing and results at no cost. The new CVS site in Lowell will use the new Abbott ID NOW™ COVID-19 test. With the launch of this site, Massachusetts is the third state where CVS has launched rapid testing sites, joining Georgia and Rhode Island.
CVS Health will be transitioning its efforts to support COVID-19 testing in Mass. to the Lowell location, which allows for up to 1,000 patients to be tested per day and receive results on-site so they can properly quarantine or seek treatment as appropriate. As a result, the company will be halting COVID-19 testing at the original Shrewsbury pilot testing site.
“The continued expansion of testing, along with our new efforts around community tracing, will enable the Commonwealth to better track and slow the spread of this virus,” said Governor Charlie Baker.
Similar to the CVS rapid COVID-19 test sites in Georgia and Rhode Island, testing at the Lowell site will be overseen by licensed health care providers from MinuteClinic, the retail medical clinic of CVS Health. The rapid COVID-19 testing will take place in the parking lot of the Showcase Cinemas located at 32 Reiss Avenue, in Lowell, and no testing will take place at CVS Pharmacy or MinuteClinic locations. Patients will need to pre-register in advance online at CVS.com in order to schedule a same-day time slot for testing.
Massachusetts has dramatically increased COVID-19 testing capacity and output. In addition to the Department of Public Health’s State Public Health Laboratory, more than 22 public and private labs are completing testing. 76,429 patients have been tested, with 4,492 tested yesterday alone.
