Free tests for protesters
Gov. Baker says people should get checked
Gov. Charlie Baker is urging all protesters to get tested at any of the 50 popup sites opening this week to guard against any flareups of the virus following the massive marches in response to the police killing of George Floyd.
“Thousands of people have been congregating in large groups over the past several weeks to exercise their First Amendment rights in the wake of the George Floyd murder,” Baker said during a press conference Monday at the State House.
“Anytime large groups of people come together, there’s a risk for transmission. We certainly support people’s rights to express their views peacefully, but we need to keep up our fight to slow the spread of COVID-19 here in Massachusetts,” Baker said.
The pop-up testing sites — at more than 50 locations scattered across the state — will open Wednesday and Thursday and will offer COVID-19 testing to anyone who wants it, free of charge, Baker said.
“If you’re healthy and feeling fine, you should get tested anyway,” Baker said.
A complete list of testing locations is available on
the state’s coronavirus website.
Baker estimated at least 300 protests have been held across Massachusetts — many with well over 1,000 participants — since the Memorial Day killing of Floyd by Minneapolis Police.
One of the first protests in here in the city, on May 31, brought roughly 20,000 people together during a time when people have
been quarantining at home and practicing social distance in an effort to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The wave of protests calling for racial justice prompted concerns from public health experts who worried the mass gatherings could spur a resurgence of the highly infectious virus.
Key health trends the state is monitoring have continued a downward trajectory in the two weeks of near-daily protests, but Baker said “it’s to still too soon to tell,” noting the virus can sometimes incu
bate for as long as three weeks before symptoms become evident.
While its true the coronavirus is receding, “it doesn’t mean the virus has left town,” Baker said, urging people to continue to wear masks and practice social distancing as the state continues with its gradual reopening of the economy.
An announcement on the second half of Phase 2 of Baker’s four-phase reopening plan — which includes indoor dining and nail salons — is expected later this week.
The state has administered more than 700,000 coronavirus tests and Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders said Massachusetts is currently administering 30,000 tests per day with 45 labs processing results — in line with the state’s goal to boost testing capacity to 45,000 daily tests by July.