Governor Charlie Baker’s office announced Monday, July 26, that the Stop the Spread initiative, which provided free COVID-19 testing in targeted areas in Massachusetts, is expanding to eight new locations, including Worcester.
AFC Urgent Care is the first Worcester provider for the program and began testing today at 117 Stafford St.
AFC conducts COVID-19 tests by appointment only from Monday – Friday from 12 PM to 5 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 11 AM to 4 PM. Registration is available on the AFC website.
AIDS Project Worcester is also a provider for the Stop the Spread initiative. The launch date of that program has not been determined.
The other locations the program is expanding to are Agawam, Brockton, Methuen, Randolph, Revere, Springfield and Taunton. The first eight locations launched were in Chelsea, Everett, Fall River, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Marlborough and New Bedford.
The Stop the Spread initiative focuses effort in areas where COVID-19 is more prevalent than the state average.
According to the Governor’s office, the statewide positive test rate over the past two weeks is 1.7%. In the eight communities where free testing is expanding to, the positive test rate is nearly 50% higher, at 2.3%.
All residents of Massachusetts are eligible for free testing at any of the 16 Stop the Spread locations.
For more information, visit the Stop the Spread page on mass.gov.
