Tuesday, July 21, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh
today announced that the City of Boston, in partnership with the East Boston
Neighborhood Health Center, is offering confidential COVID-19 testing at no
cost for both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals at a pop-up location in
Allston. The COVID-19 testing initiative will be available for residents
starting today, Tuesday, July 21 to Saturday, August 1 at BCYF Jackson Mann
Community Center located at 500 Cambridge Street in Allston. Testing is
available to anyone by walk-up only. Registration is not mandatory, but
residents are encouraged to register in advance by calling (617)
568-4500.
"COVID-19 testing is fundamental to
individuals and families' clarity, and it's also important for guiding our
gradual and safe reopening plans. As a City, we will continue to place the
health and safety of our residents as our top priority so we must continue to
make decisions based on public health data," said Mayor Walsh. "Thank
you to the East Boston Neighborhood Health Center for your partnership in
making COVID-19 testing more accessible for more residents."
The dates and hours of operation at BCYF Jackson
Mann Community Center are:
Tuesday, July 21 -
Friday, July 24: 2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 25: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Tuesday, July 28-
Friday, July 31: 2:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 1: 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
In addition to the pop-up site in Allston,
COVID-19 testing is available at over 20 locations across the city. Mobile
testing sites also continue to be available at select locations, prioritizing
neighborhoods and populations that need dedicated testing efforts to create
equitable access to testing. Individuals can call the Mayor's Health Line with
any questions using 617-534-5050. For a complete list of all testing sites,
visit here.
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 July 13, 2020, there
have been 99,279 COVID-19 tests of Boston residents of which 14.2 percent have
testing positive, down from 15.2 percent reported through July 6, 2020. The
incidence rate of COVID-19 has been higher for East Boston, Mattapan, Hyde Park
and Dorchester compared to the rest of Boston. Of cases where race/ethnicity
was known, as of July 17, 4 percent were Asian, 37 percent were Black, 28
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 $1,720,000 to 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; free toiletries for Boston students; support for
older residents; information on homeless shelters; 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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