COVID

Last of state-run free COVID testing sites to close

The remaining sites – in Everett, Framingham, Lawrence, Lynn, New Bedford, Randolph, Revere, Springfield, and Worcester – will close by the end of March.

A COVID specialist collects a specimen at a COVID-19 testing site outside the Randolph Intergenerational Community Center on January 05, 2021. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff

By Heather Alterisio

March 6, 2023

Roughly three years after concerns first started growing about COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts, the state is getting ready to close its remaining “Stop the Spread” free testing sites.

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The “Stop the Spread” program launched in July 2020 and has since provided more than 4.3 million PCR tests to Massachusetts residents, a spokesperson for the state Department of Public Health confirmed by email.

Two years later — this past July — the state announced the program would end after March 2023.

Since the summer, the state has seen a dramatic drop in demand at these sites.

In early February, for the first time ever, fewer than 1,000 tests were administered in a week, representing a more than 97% decrease in use, according to the Department of Public Health.

The department acknowledged that large-scale, state-funded PCR testing is no longer the best use of resources due to the drop in demand. Instead, officials recommend that people continue to access rapid at-home antigen tests, as well as PCR tests as needed, at retail pharmacies, urgent care facilities, and primary care settings.

The 11 remaining sites — located in Everett, Framingham, Lawrence, Lynn, New Bedford, Randolph, Revere, Springfield, and Worcester — will close by the end of the month.

To learn more about the state’s COVID response, case numbers, vaccines and boosters, and other testing options, visit mass.gov/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19.