SALEM, MA – One of the remaining cellular COVID-19 PCR testing sites on the North Shore will close and close starting next month.
Salem officials said Tuesday that Curative, the corporation that conducted cell phone screening at Riley Plaza and operated mass vaccination at Danvers in 2021, told the city that Riley Plaza would close as of Dec. 31, 2022.
The site opened in February and remained open when Gov. Charlie Baker announced last spring that “Stop the Spread” testing sites, which were the first loose state sites to open when testing became more prevalent in August 2020, would close due to a lack of convocation and availability of immediate at-home testing.
The Stop the Spread sites in Salem were at a self-service location at Salem High School and a walk-in location at Old Town Hall and later on St. Peter’s Church.
Salem officials said loose and immediate COVID-19 home testing will continue to be provided through the Ministry of Health while supplies last.
Testing can be found at pharmacy sites and at Salem State University here.
(Scott Souza is editor of Patch Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott. Souza@Patch. com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza).
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