About 3 years after concerns about COVID-19 cases began to grow in Massachusetts, the state is preparing to shut down “Stop the Spread” testing sites left loose.
The “Stop the Spread” program was introduced in July 2020 and has since provided more than 4. 3 million PCR tests to Massachusetts residents, a state Department of Public Health spokesperson showed in an email.
Two years later, last July, the state announced that the program would end after March 2023.
Since the summer, the state has noticed a dramatic drop in demand for those sites.
In early February, for the first time in history, fewer than 1,000 tests were administered in a week, representing a drop in use of more than 97%, to the Directorate of Public Health.
The branch stated that large-scale, state-funded PCR testing is no longer the most productive use of resources due to declining demand. Instead, officials proposed that others continue to access immediate at-home antigen tests as well as PCR tests as needed. in retail pharmacies, urgent care services and number one care services.
The remaining 11 sites, in Everett, Framingham, Lawrence, Lynn, New Bedford, Randolph, Revere, Springfield and Worcester, will close until the end of the month.
For more information on the state’s COVID response, case count, vaccines and boosters, and other testing options, mass. gov/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19.