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    Friday, April 19, 2024

    Mass. Gov. sets testing goals; CVS opening drive-thru test sites

    A Salvation Army worker, center, wears a mask and gloves out of concern for the coronavirus while distributing food to a person, right, also wearing a mask, Thursday, May 14, 2020 in Chelsea, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

    BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker laid out an ambitious testing goal Thursday that he said will create the largest coronavirus testing program on a per capita basis anywhere in the world.

    The plan calls for boosting overall capacity to 45,000 tests a day by the end of July and 75,000 tests a day by the end of December — the equivalent of 27 million tests per year, Baker said. The goal is to decrease the positive test rate to less than 5% while helping labs increase capacity before a potential testing surge in the fall.

    The state will continue to target tests toward vulnerable populations, including medical workers, residents and staff in assisted living facilities, and the incarcerated.

    Some of the expanded testing will also be used for randomized tests to help look for potential outbreaks.

    Baker stopped short of calling for universal testing, saying tests should be used strategically.

    “It’s a valuable tool, testing, but it’s not the only tool that we have to fight back against the virus,” Baker said.

    Other tools include social distancing, the use of masks or facial coverings, and frequent hand washing or hand sanitizing.

    The state is also continuing to track down personal protective equipment, Baker said at the press conference.

    From April 20 through last weekend, six chartered flights from China have landed in Massachusetts carrying more than 7.5 million pieces of protective gear — the vast majority of them masks, Baker said.

    Once the planes land, the gear is inspected, transported to a warehouse, tested and then distributed.

    Baker called the shipments a “big win” for Massachusetts and defended the decision to scour the globe.

    “You go where you have to go to get it,” the Republican said.

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    CVS COVID-19 TEST SITES

    CVS is opening 10 new COVID-19 test sites at Massachusetts pharmacy locations starting Friday, the company said.

    The Massachusetts locations are among 51 new sites that will also begin operating in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida and Pennsylvania, the Rhode Island-based company said in a statement Thursday.

    The new sites will utilize self-swab tests that won't require people to get out of their vehicles. No testing will be done in the stores.

    Patients will be given a test kit and instructions at the drive-thru window. A qualified CVS employee will observe the test to ensure it is done properly. Tests will be sent to a third-party lab for processing, with results available in about three days.

    Preregistration for the tests is required.

    CVS Health expects to have up to 1,000 locations across the country offering the service by the end of May, with the goal of processing up to 1.5 million tests per month.

    Here are the latest coronavirus-related developments in Massachusetts:

    BURIAL ASSISTANCE

    Some Massachusetts lawmakers have proposed a $5 million fund to help families struggling to pay the burial costs of loved ones lost to the coronavirus pandemic.

    A bipartisan proposal, backed by nearly a dozen lawmakers, would provide individual grants of up to $1,500 for qualifying families to offset burial costs, The Salem News reports.

    Families of “essential workers,” such as those in health care, grocery stores or other fields, who remained on the job during the outbreak and died as a result of the virus, would be given priority.

    “During this unprecedented time, the last thing folks should be worrying about is how they will cover funeral and burial expenses in the tragic event that a family member dies from COVID-19,” said state Sen. Diana DiZoglio, a Methuen Democrat.

    More than 5,300 people in Massachusetts had died of the disease as of Wednesday, according to the state Department of Public Health.

    People wear masks out of concern for the coronavirus as they carry boxes of food they received from a Salvation Army food pantry, Thursday, May 14, 2020, in Chelsea, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
    People wearing masks out of concern for the coronavirus are reflected in the window of a vehicle while standing in line for food outside a Salvation Army food pantry, Thursday, May 14, 2020, in Chelsea, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
    Salvation Army workers, left and right, wear masks and gloves out of concern for the coronavirus while distributing food outside a food pantry, Thursday, May 14, 2020, to people also wearing masks, in Chelsea, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
    People wear masks out of concern for the coronavirus while transporting boxes of food they received from a Salvation Army food pantry, Thursday, May 14, 2020, in Chelsea, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
    A Salvation Army worker, behind center, wears a mask and gloves out of concern for the coronavirus while distributing food to people also wearing masks, Thursday, May 14, 2020 in Chelsea, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
    Salvation Army workers wear masks and gloves out of concern for the coronavirus while distributing food, Thursday, May 14, 2020, in Chelsea, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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