Tuesday, June 9, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh
announced today the City of Boston is partnering with the East Boston
Neighborhood Health Center to offer free and confidential COVID-19 testing to
symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals in a pop-up location in Roxbury. This
community testing initiative will be available tomorrow, Wednesday, June 10 and
Thursday, June 11 at Washington Park Mall's parking lot from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.,
and will be open to everyone on a walk-in basis. Boston
residents who have recently participated in large gatherings are strongly
encouraged to get tested to limit the further spread of COVID-19.
"As residents take a stand and raise their
voices against racism and injustice, we want to provide every tool we can to
keep them and their loved ones healthy when returning home," said Mayor
Walsh. "In addition to handing out face coverings and hand sanitizer at
recent demonstrations, we are proud to now make available a pop-up site for
anyone -- with symptoms or not -- and encourage those who have recently been in
large groups to get tested and limit the further spread of COVID-19 in our
community."
Boston is offering COVID-19 testing in over 20
locations across the city that can be found at boston.gov/covid19-testing-map
along with hours and contact information. Mobile testing has been filling gaps
in testing availability, prioritizing neighborhoods and populations that need
dedicated testing efforts to create equitable access to testing.
As part of the ongoing work to make testing
available for groups at risk of faster spread and more severe illness from
COVID-19, the City has been universally testing
individuals experiencing homelessness and among other high-impact
populations and sites, including first responders.
Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and the
Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) recently conducted a study
to evaluate community exposure to COVID-19 through a representative
sampling of asymptomatic Boston residents that resulted in 9.9 percent testing
positive for antibodies and 2.6 percent of currently asymptomatic individuals
testing positive for COVID-19. In conclusion, approximately 1 in 10 residents
in this study have developed antibodies and approximately 1 in 40 currently
asymptomatic individuals are positive for COVID-19 and potentially infectious.
The City has now expanded antibody testing to more Bostonians including
targeted populations, such as first responders and frontline workers.
The City of Boston has been partnering with
community health centers to increase access to testing, particularly in neighborhoods
experiencing higher rates of COVID-19. As of June 1, 2020, there have been
58,115 COVID-19 tests of Boston residents of which 22.6 percent have tested
positive, down from 24.2 percent reported through May 24. The incidence rate of
COVID-19 has been higher for Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Mattapan,
Roslindale, Roxbury, and the South End compared with the rest of Boston. Of
cases where race/ethnicity was known, 4 percent were Asian, 38 percent were
Black, 26 percent were Hispanic or Latino, 25 percent were white, and 7 percent
identified as multi-racial or another racial/ethnic group. The latest numbers
of cases by Boston neighborhoods are available here.
Mayor Walsh and the Boston Resiliency Fund
Steering Committee have dedicated over $1,300,000to expand COVID-19 testing and
conduct culturally appropriate outreach and education to community health
centers across City of Boston neighborhoods, including Bowdoin
Street Community Health Center, Codman
Square Community Health Center, The Dimock Center, DotHouse Health, Mattapan Community Health Center, Uphams Corner Community Health
Center, Whittier
Street Community Health Center, Charles River Community Health, Fenway
Health, Greater
Roslindale Medical & Dental Center, Harbor
Health, East
Boston Neighborhood Health Center, Harvard Street Neighborhood Health Center,
Southern
Jamaica Plain Health Center, South
Boston Community Health Center, NEW Health Charlestown, South
End Community Health Center, and Brookside
Community Health Center. The Fund has also supported telehealth services
and equipment at those community health centers as well to connect testing to
safe treatment options at home.
Resources and information about COVID-19 are
available online. Resources available on boston.gov
and through City departments include support for renters and homeowners; small
businesses; free meals for Boston students and families; free toiletries for
Boston students; emergency childcare centers; support for older residents;
information on homeless shelters; transportation options for health care
workers; resources for those in recovery or those who have a substance use
disorder; and mental health resources. More information on Boston's reopening
can be found at boston.gov/reopening.
For additional questions or programs, please
visit our coronavirus website or call 3-1-1, Boston's
24-hour constituent hotline. Text BOSCOVID to 888-777 to receive text alerts on
a regular basis, available in 11 languages.
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