WORCESTER – Hundreds of people waited for COVID-19 testing on Monday morning, in a line that weaved five rows in Mercantile Plaza and wrapped along the sidewalk on Commercial Street onto Foster Street.
By noon, the end of the line was directly across the street from the DCU Center main entrance and there appeared to be between 400 to 500 people in line.
One woman said she arrived to get in line at 9:45 AM, over an hour prior to the facility’s opening at 11 AM. At 11:45 AM, she was the next person in line to enter the facility. The woman estimated there may have been up to 150 people in line when she arrived.
Operating hours increased this week at the Mercantile Center testing and vaccination site, which is run by UMass Memorial Medical Center’s Community Benefits Program. In the last week of 2021, the location was open for 12.5 hours of walk-up testing and vaccination.
The hours changed starting Monday, January 3, to 21 hours per week, with all but three hours dedicated only to testing. The revised hours are:
- Monday, January 3 – Testing Only: 11 AM – 4 PM
- Tuesday, January 4 – Testing Only: 10 AM – 3 PM
- Wednesday, January 5 – Testing Only: 9 AM – 12 PM
- Thursday, January 6 – Testing Only: 10 AM – 3 PM
- Friday, January 7 – Vaccines Only: 12 PM – 3 PM
The line outside Mercantile Center was cut off at 4 PM on Monday and testing continued past 5 PM for anyone in line still waiting before the cut off time.
