Salem, Massachusetts – The City of Salem today announced that free COVID-19 testing through the Commonwealth “Stop the Spread” initiative will be extended through September 30th. The testing schedule remains unchanged, via drive-through or walk-up outside of Salem High School at 77 Willson Street. Testing days and hours are as follows:
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. except for Saturday, September 12th which will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
No proof of insurance or citizenship is necessary. Testing is via nasal swab, administered by EMTs from Fallon Ambulance, and processed via RT PCR at the Broad Institute Laboratory. Test results are returned, whether positive or negative, to the resident within 36 hours. You do not need to be symptomatic, quarantining, or have been in proximity to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 in order to receive this testing.
In the event of sustained inclement weather testing may be temporarily suspended or even cancelled for the day, depending on the severity of the weather.
“I want to encourage all Salem residents to get tested for COVID-19,” said Mayor Kim Driscoll. “For those who work in frontline jobs and interact with the public and those who may be in a high-risk population it can be especially important. While we have seen good progress in slowing the spread of COVID-19 in our community, the virus is still here, and we need to remain vigilant to protect our loved ones and ourselves. Testing is a critically important method to accomplish this.”
Between the start of Salem’s “Stop the Spread” testing on August 17th and September 2nd, a total of 3,404 tests were conducted, with 24 of those tests returning positive.
