STOP THE SPREAD TESTING SITES EXTENDED TESTING THROUGH March 31ST
STOP THE SPREAD HOLIDAY HOURS
HCC drive-through site:
Tuesday 12/29: 1pm-7
Wednesday 12/30: 7am-12
Thursday 12/31: Closed
Friday 1/1: Closed
Appleton Street walk-up site:
Wednesday 12/30: 10am-1 (to accommodate the lab closures at 4pm)
Friday 1/1: Closed
Staffing at both test sites has been increased. The staff at the drive-through site has been doubled to lower wait times and increase the volume of vehicles that can be accepted.
Changes have been made in operations at the drive-through site to clearly establish an end point in testing availability each day. We hope to eliminate the possibility of visitors to the site waiting in long lines, only to be turned away at the end of the testing session at 11am or 7pm.
Under the new procedures, the last eligible vehicle for testing (for that day’s testing session) will be established as soon as can be reasonably determined. That vehicle, and any vehicle in line before it, will be tested even if they do not reach the testing area by the set end of the session at 11am or 7pm.
WALK UP COVID-19 Testing Site in Holyoke
A walk-up COVID testing site opened in Holyoke at 323 Appleton St. Testing hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2pm to 6pm. Testing will run until 3/31/21.
DRIVE UP COVID-19 Testing Site in Holyoke
A Stop the Spread test has opened at Holyoke Community College. Testing will run until 3/31/21.
The location of testing at Holyoke Community College has changed.
A map with the new traffic pattern and testing site location is posted on the Holyoke Board of Health website.
The testing will remain at HCC, but now take place at Lot H.
The test site will still be drive-through.
Hours and days of operation will not change.
– The site will operate Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 7am – 11am. Tuesday and Thursday 2pm -7pm.
– Turnaround time for results is typically 4 days or fewer.
– This test site is first come, first serve. There are no appointments. Please do not call the Health Department or Holyoke Community College to make an appointment.
– The test site at Holyoke Community College is a drive-through only test site. Please do not get out of your vehicle. Signage and Campus Police will be readily apparent to help you access the site easily.
– To help speed up the process, please have your information ready. They will ask for your full name, address (you must be a Massachusetts resident), phone number and email address.
– There is no cost for the testing. You do not need a referral, nor do you need to be symptomatic.
– The test style will be the less invasive swab in the lower nostril. The older style that required further insertion of the swab will not be used.
– If you have previously tested positive, DPH and CDC guidelines do not recommend getting retested at this time.
– If you are acutely symptomatic, particularly if you have a high fever, consider scheduling a test with your Primary Care Physician.
– Information on all of the Stop the Spread test sites across the State can be found at: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/stop-the-spread
Gov. Baker Urges Residents to Skip Holiday Gatherings, Citing Post-Thanksgiving COVID Spike
Baker said a surge of new coronavirus cases since Thanksgiving has put a “significant strain” on the health care system
By Marc Fortier
Massachusetts Governor Baker urged residents to avoid travel plans and gatherings with people during the holidays.
Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday urged Massachusetts residents not to gather in groups during the upcoming holidays, saying such activities over Thanksgiving led to a significant spike in coronavirus cases.
Baker said a surge of new coronavirus cases since Thanksgiving has put a “significant strain” on the health care system, and warned the situation could worsen after December’s holidays, threatening to dampen optimism following the arrival this week of vaccine shipments to the state.
“It’s pretty simple,” Baker said in a press conference. “The safest way to celebrate this year is with members of your own household and to postpone or cancel any travel plans and to avoid gatherings with people you don’t live with. Any type of celebration beyond that has real potential, as we saw with Thanksgiving, to spread the virus and hurt the ones we love the most.” Read the full story here: https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/gov-baker-urges-residents-skip-holiday-gatherings-post-thanksgiving-spike/2257775/
Gov. Charlie Baker announces new COVID restrictions to take effect after Christmas affecting capacity limits, indoor and outdoor gathering sizes
By Tanner Stening | tstening@masslive.com
Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday announced a series of new COVID restrictions on businesses and gatherings limits in an effort to prevent another spike in cases surrounding the holidays.
The restrictions begin on Saturday, Dec. 26, and will remain in place for at least two weeks, Baker said. The state will be reducing capacity limits to 25% for “most industries,” and is reducing the number of people allowed to gather outside to 25. For indoor gatherings, including for events, that limit is 10 people. Read the full story here: https://www.masslive.com/coronavirus/2020/12/gov-charlie-baker-announces-new-covid-restrictions-to-take-effect-after-christmas-affecting-capacity-limits-indoor-and-outdoor-gathering-sizes.html
As of today, there are 2,911 positive COVID cases in Holyoke (<1% increase)
Weekly Public Health Report (Updated Wednesday) Contains town-by-town numbers, long-term care facility information, and more: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-response-reporting#covid-19-weekly-public-health-report-
Massachusetts comprehensive daily “dashboard” illustrating the spread of this virus across regions and demographics: https://www.mass.gov/info-details/covid-19-response-reporting#covid-19-daily-dashboard-
Testing has a turnaround time of 1-5 days and many cases are being clinically diagnosed (no testing or reporting involved). All are advised to behave as though they are carriers of Covid-19.
The curve we need to flatten: County numbers graphed over time can be found here: https://www.wmasscovid.com/
The Massachusetts Daily Dashboard is now updated to provide a more granular look into the daily positivity rates. As of today, there were 80,620 active cases in MA with 4,060 new cases. There were 48 new deaths today with an average age of 80 years old. The average age of cases that were hospitalized is 69 years old. The age range with the highest number of current positive cases is 20-29 year olds, followed by 0-19 year olds, followed by 30-39 year olds. All together the state has a 7-day average positivity rate of 6.68%.