Fairgrounds In Falmouth Named As Upper Cape’s COVID-19 Testing Site – CapeNews.net

The Cape Cod Fairgrounds in East Falmouth will become a testing site for COVID-19 this week.

The site will be opened using the $300,000 in funding that was secured by state Representative Dylan A. Fernandes (D-Falmouth) and will allow for drive-through access to symptomatic and asymptomatic testing.

A dry run of the site is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8. The site is expected to be open for at least six months.

A COVID-19 testing site is also going to be opened in Hyannis in the Cape Cod Melody Tent parking lot. Hyannis Fire Chief Peter Burke told the Barnstable Town Council at its meeting Thursday last week, December 3, that the site could be open as early as Friday, December 11.

This site will also be by appointment only, although the out-of-pocket cost for people without insurance will be lower than the typical $160 cost. The chief said it could cost under $50 and potentially much lower than that.

The test being offered at this site will be a self-administered nasal swab under the observation of medical personnel. The swab will then be sent to the Brodt Institute in Cambridge for processing.

Turnaround time is expected to be between 24 and 48 hours.

Chief Burke said the size of the parking lot will mean cars will not be spilling onto the roadway while awaiting testing.

Residents with insurance will have their insurance billed for the testing.

The site will be open to all people, not just to residents of Barnstable, and will not require that a person prove exposure or be symptomatic, Chief Burke said, who added that the site is still in the planning stage, but more information about how people will be able to be tested there will be available soon.

This site is being funded with money secured by state Senator Susan L. Moran (D-Falmouth).

In addition to the Falmouth and Hyannis testing sites, a third testing site is expected to be available for outer Cape residents soon as well. No further information has been announced about the outer Cape site at this time.

None of these sites is a Stop the Spread sitelocations where residents can drop in without an appointment and be tested at no cost. Cape Cod does not have a Stop the Spread site, and the nearest location of that type is in New Bedford.

The state is starting to see the impact of people not following the guidance surrounding Thanksgiving, with cases surging statewide.

On Monday afternoon, December 7, Sandwich Assistant Town Manager Heather B. Harper, who is a member of the town's COVID-19 Response Team, sent out a press release indicating that the town now has 38 active cases. This is up from just 10 last Thursday.

"This is the highest total number of positive cases that the Town of Sandwich has had at any time during this pandemic," she said. "This rise in cases appears to be reflective of the gatherings held over the Thanksgiving holiday and contacts people make in public and at work."

She said this number is expected to rise even further.

Ms. Harper said if the town starts to see evidence of community spread, officials will evaluate the possibility of partial or full closure of schools and town offices.

Between Friday, December 4, and Sunday, December 6, 188 new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Cape Cod.

This brings the Barnstable County total to 3,702 confirmed and probable cases since the outbreak began in March.

Two deaths from the virus were reported on Friday for a total of 197 deaths related to the disease.

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Fairgrounds In Falmouth Named As Upper Cape's COVID-19 Testing Site - CapeNews.net