'Everyone Is Getting Tested Before': Long Lines At COVID Testing Sites Ahead Of Thanksgiving
FRAMINGHAM (CBS) - In cars and on foot it seems there's no letup in the lines waiting for COVID-19 testing, and for some they've been shuffled from one line to another. "I waited in line at a place in Lynn for four hours, and then I was told they weren't going to get to me," said Michel Ohly at a line in Framingham.
"I couldn't get in any place within a 20 mile radius," said David Javitch. Which is why so many are willing to wait it out at locations where appointments and doctor referrals aren't necessary.
For some it's because of travel or the need to be cautious. One woman said she is planning to get together with her family for Thanksgiving. "We hope to," she told WBZ. "Everyone is getting tested before."
For others it's a necessity. "A close contact of mine tested positive. I work in a school and I don't want to give it to my students," said another woman in line at site at TJX in Framingham.
It's one of 18 "stop the spread" sites run by the state where frontline workers braved the cold for hours to meet the demand, another at a sports complex in Marlborough, and a line before the doors even opened at another site in Framingham.
When the "stop the spread" program first started in Marlborough, they were doing 50 to 100 tests a day. Last Friday it surpassed 800 tests for the first time. "For it to continue to grow to 800 is significant growth. I'm surprised as many people are out there looking for tests," said John Kelly, chief operating officer of Marlborough Hospital.
With Christmas just around the corner Kelly anticipates that lines won't let up for some time.
