AMHERST — Over the summer as demonstrators held rallies in support of racial justice, a pop-up COVID-19 testing site, supported by the state, was set up at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.
Despite the popularity of the site that allowed it to be extended for an additional day, Hampshire County residents interested in free testing sites have to trek to Holyoke, Agawam or Springfield.
With the region seeing the arrival of college students affiliated with the University of Massachusetts, many of whom live off-campus, and continued concerns about staying healthy and not transmitting the disease, local legislators are calling on the Baker Administration to establish a Stop the Spread, state- funded COVID-19 testing site in the county, with a preference for an Amherst location.
“As you know, there are currently only three free state-supported COVID-19 testing sites available to symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals in western Massachusetts, all of which are located in Hampden County, presenting significant obstacles to Hampshire County residents,” reads the letter sent to Secretary of Health and Human Services MaryLou Sudders and Commissioner of Public Health Monica Bharel, and signed by the 10 members of the House and Senate who are part of the delegation. “In areas outside of major cities, like in western Massachusetts, public transit between counties is challenging, sometimes nonexistent.”
State Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, spearheaded the effort, with Granby, where Precinct 1 is part of her 3rd Hampshire District. The town was recently named a high-risk community for COVID-19 transmission, based on a tracking map released by the Department of Public Health. That map identifies those communities when the average daily case rate is more than eight COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over a two-week period.
In a subsequent release of data about high-risk communities, South Hadley, which borders Domb’s district, was classified in the same way.
State Rep. Natalie Blais, D-Sunderland, said many in the delegation have been pushing for increased testing in western Massachusetts since the beginning of the pandemic.
“We need more testing in western Massachusetts period, end of story,” said Blais, whose 1st Franklin district includes several rural towns in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties.
Blais added that she is also concerned about ensuring people can get tested in her hometown of Sunderland, where a significant amount of college renters live.
In thier letter, the lawmakers wrote that “Our constituents remain concerned, interested, and committed to being part of the solution to the pandemic. The influx of students and the likelihood that many residents live and work in different communities, often crossing boundaries between low and high risk, underscores the need expressed by our constituents.”
The closest Stop the Spread site to Hampshire County opened Wednesday on the Holyoke Community College campus, and will be open every weekday and on Saturdays. The testing, conducted on a first-come, first-serve basis, with no appointments necessary, will be open from 7 to 11 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and from 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
There is no cost for the tests and no referral is required.
The state website lists Holyoke, Springfield and Agawam residents as among those who should be tested: “If you are a resident of one of these communities, even if you have no COVID symptoms, please get tested to help stop the spread.”
Testing is also available through other providers and local college students, faculty and staff are now being tested regularly at the Mullins Center at UMass and at Amherst College and Hampshire College.
In addition to Domb and Blais, the letter was signed by state Daniel Carey, Thomas Petrolati, Susannah Whipps and Todd Smola, and Sens. Jo Comerford, Eric Lesser, Adam Hinds, John Velis and Anne Gobi.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbacah@gazettenet.com
