The City of Salem today announced detailed plans for December’s COVID-19 testing throughout the community. Testing measures have been used in Salem since July as a means of monitoring virus transmission and trying to curb its spread. In late October the City announced “Knowvember,” a community campaign to encourage Salem residents to get tested at one of three free testing sites across the City. As a result of that campaign, the number of tests increased by close to 56% in November over the previous month. To date, a total of 44,822 COVID tests have been conducted on Salem residents.
To help broaden the reach of COVID-19 testing in the community, the City is announcing the following testing programs for December:
Sewer Surveillance
In collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the City began conducting surveillance testing for COVID-19 in wastewater on November 23rd. Testing is taking place in catchment areas corresponding to high-risk populations, where independent sampling is possible. Results are monitored weekly and the City will notify residents in these areas if COVID-19 levels in any of them increase, so they can get tested to know their COVID-19 status and take measures to contain the spread in their own household if necessary. Salem is one of a small number of cities conducting wastewater testing. Given this is an emerging science, the City is working closely with experts and the Commonwealth to understand the data and safeguard those who live and work in Salem.
School Community & City Employee Testing
In October, just under 300 Salem Public School employees participated in a COVID-19 testing baseline screening prior to the return to the classroom for grades K-2. None of the employees tested positive. Now, building on that model, Salem Public Schools, Salem Police, Salem Fire, and City municipal employees are eligible to participate in a pooled testing program being conducted weekly through the company Mirimus. Salem will be the second school district in Massachusetts – after Wellesley – to offer this testing option. In Salem, all school employees who are working in a school building, as well as all in-person high school students, are eligible to participate. The same program is being offered to all City employees, including police officers and firefighters. In addition, Salem Public Schools has been selected by the state to be one of 134 districts in the Commonwealth to receive Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 rapid antigen tests for symptomatic individuals in schools in order to increase the speed of response and quarantine before an individual receives diagnostic test results. This menu of COVID-19 testing and surveillance options is being deployed to assist with re-opening schools and City offices and maintaining important local government functions.
SCAN Testing
In the last week of November, 1,427 Salem residents participated in the Salem Coronavirus Awareness Network (SCAN) testing initiative, which consisted of free RT-PCR molecular testing for COVID-19 available to Salem residents only. SCAN testing will resume next week, with some important modifications. SCAN testing will be walk-up and by appointment only and will be relocated to a new testing site, at the Mayor Jean Levesque Community Life Center at 401 Bridge Street, at days and times to be announced. Residents who wish to get tested at the CLC will be required to register online for an appointment; online registration will be available in the coming days and announced when the testing days and times are announced. Again, SCAN testing is only available by appointment and is only available for Salem residents.
“Stop the Spread” Testing
In addition to these testing programs, Salem continues to host two state-run “Stop the Spread” testing sites: a walk-up site at Old Town Hall (Mondays-Wednesdays 9am-2pm; Thursdays 1pm-6pm; Fridays 9am-1pm) and a drive-up site at Salem High School (Mondays-Fridays 4pm-8pm and Saturdays 10am-3pm). More details about “Stop the Spread” testing in Salem, as well as a link to pre-register, can be found at www.salem.com/stopthespread. “Stop the Spread” testing is available to any Massachusetts resident, whether or not they live in Salem, and no appointment is necessary.
“Salem takes COVID-19 seriously, and we have from the outset,” said Mayor Kim Driscoll. “As more testing options become available to us – from broad-based surveillance tools to more individualized tests – we are working to deploy them to ensure our schools and City workplaces are safe, to protect the health of our residents and high-risk populations especially, and to help curtail the further spread of this deadly virus across our community. I encourage all Salem residents to explore the testing options available to them. Together, we can help slow the transmission of COVID-19 in Salem so our schools and small businesses can reopen again safely for everyone.”
“We are excited to launch testing for all staff and some students across our schools as it is an important aspect of our multi-faceted effort to continue and expand in-person learning during the current school year,” said Dr. Stephen Zrike, Superintendent of Public Schools. “We appreciate the support and partnership of the City of Salem as we take every step to keep our children and employees safe during these extraordinary times.”
