Cape Cod Officials Looking For New Coronavirus Testing Sites

HYANNIS, MA — Officials with the Cape Cod Reopening Task Force announced Thursday they are working on opening new coronavirus testing sites across the region.

The effort to add more testing sites comes as COVID-19 cases and positive test rates spike on the Cape. And despite the rise in cases, especially in Barnstable and Yarmouth, Cape Cod towns are among the least-tested communities in the state, especially on the outer Cape. State Sen. Julian Cyr last week called Cape Cod a "testing desert."

Task force officials announced they are scouting out locations for new testing sites. Where the testing sites will be wasn't disclosed, but there's likely to be two or three new sites.

Cyr said the new testing sites will require appointments. He told residents to be on the lookout for a website the task force will launch to help people get signed up for testing.

Officials anticipate the sites being geographically diverse to accommodate residents on the Outer Cape, who have the longest travel distance to a hospital in the state. Some of these residents need to drive two hours to find a free testing site.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Outer Cape averaged administrating just 1,088-7,605 coronavirus per 100,000 residents over the last two weeks. Other towns in the mid Cape, like Barnstable and Yarmouth, averaged between 7,605 and 8,942 tests, the second lowest designation the state gives.

Frank Schultz, the communications director for Cyr, acknowledged testing has improved since last week's update, but not enough. He said the region finally received the bulk of the $550,000 the state allocated for testing on Cape Cod.

"We were slow to get them but got them now," Schultz said. "But it's still not where we need it to be. It hasn't changed really significantly anywhere east of Dennis."