Codman expands COVID-19 testing
Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester is now offering coronavirus tests to anyone in close contact with an infected person, even if they are asymptomatic, as the center continues to expand testing eligibility.
“Community response has been really strong, we have had more than 1,500 tested already,” Codman spokeswoman Christine Leccese said. Testing started on March 16.
New eligibility also includes anyone required to have testing for their workplace and those with mild coronavirus symptoms, according to Codman Square Health Center.
Workers will not test asymptomatic people who have had no known contact with an infected person.
Those who need testing do not need to be a patient of Codman Square Health.
“We just started this a couple days ago so there’s been an increase in people coming in,” Leccese said.
At the start of the pandemic, testing requirements for coronavirus were very strict as kits across the commonwealth and the country were limited.
Decisions about testing are being made at the state and local level, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still places testing priority on hospitalized patients, health care workers and residents of prisons or long-term care facilities with coronavirus symptoms.
“It’s important because there are so many people in Dorchester who have been hard hit by this,” Leccese said, adding, “Dorchester has high infection rates, we have a lot of people here who work on the front line, people in the neighborhood who maybe don’t have the luxury of working from home.”
To get tested at Codman, patients need to call ahead at 617-822-8271. Testing hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.