WELLESLEY, MASS. (WHDH) - CVS pharmacy is opeing up nine new COVID-19 testing sites acorss Massachusetts, as part of a plan to expand the number of tests performed and one local town is opting out of the plan.
A CVS location in Wellesley will no longer be performing COVID-19 testing after residents complained of long lines and traffic problems.
After receiving complaints from residents concerned about the possibility of crowding at the Linden Street CVS location, town officials and CVS determined the location would not become a testing site.
“We reached out to them just to talk a little bit about the location because it is a very densely populated area. There’s a big Roche Bros. supermarket right there, a lot of traffic,” town Communications Manager Stephanie Hawkinson said. “So we were concerned about the long lines of people waiting for the drive-thru testing.”
This announcement comes hours after Gov. Baker announced they would be a part of the state’s plan to expand testing.
CVS is working with the Commonwealth to expand testing and is launching 10 new COVID-19 drive-thru test locations in Charlton, Worcester, Raynham, Northampton, Bridgewater, Carver, West Springfield, Danvers, Westport, and Wellesley, Baker announced at a press conference earlier in the day.
Though they are open to opening another testing site in town, officials said the Linden Street location is the only one that meets CVS standards to open a testing site.
“We think that there could be other locations in Wellesley that would be more appropriate for the drive-thru testing and we look forward to working with CVS to see if we could make that happen.
At the drive-thru, no doctor’s referral is required to receive testing.
Those who meet guidelines outlined by the Center for Disease Control can preregister and perform the test themselves with a nasal swab.
“These new sites are part of CVS’s first rollout of its national testing expansion program which is starting in just a handful of states,” Baker said.
Over the past week, the Commonwealth has conducted over 8,000 COVID-19 tests and the state plans to expand on that.
By the end of July, they hope to have 45,000 and by the end of December, 75,000.
“If we reach the testing goals that we are seeking to achieve, we’ll be the largest and the highest tester per capita basis anywhere in the world,” Baker said.
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