Beverly Still Has Free COVID-19 Tests Available For Residents

BEVERLY, MA — Beverly still has some free, at-home rapid COVID-19 tests available for residents who want them at a time when positive rates are creeping back up ahead of the new school year.

While insurance companies are no longer required to reimburse members for purchasing the kits, with the expiration of the federal and state emergency orders from 2020, the city has a supply of tests free to residents while supplies last.

Those who want tests can pick them up at City Hall, Beverly Public Library, Beverly Police Department, Greater Beverly YMCA Sterling Center, Beverly Bootstraps and the Beverly Council on Aging and Senior Community Center.

Several data sources tracking local COVID-19 cases showed an increase earlier this month, but health officials caution that virus levels are still much smaller than in previous years.

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority also showed an upward bent in COVID-19 samples in wastewater in both the southern area, which spans Framingham to Hingham, and the northern area from Wilmington to Boston. The levels had ticked up to where the region was in March but were still lower than in July 2022.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)