Framingham Free Coronavirus Test Site Will Get Bigger

FRAMINGHAM, MA — Framingham's lone Stop the Spread coronavirus testing site will expand after Thursday, but will have to shut down first.

The testing site at 484 Franklin St., run by Project Beacon, will close for the day on Thursday so a new lane can be added at the site. The new lane will increase testing capacity by about 150 people per hour, according to city officials. The site is capable of testing about 1,000 people per day.

Residents from around the region have relied on Framingham's Project Beacon site after local free testing options shrunk in December.

Framingham had a walk-up site at the South Middlesex Opportunity Council building along Bishop Street, but that site closed at the end of 2020. Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer said the city is searching for another location for walk-up testing.

Acting Health Director Alexandra DePalo told the City Council Tuesday that state officials were coming to inspect a potential walk-up site this week. But she did not know how long it might be after that before the site opens.

"We really want to find a walk-up site that works for residents," she told the Council.

The Project Beacon site is open from 2 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday following Monday's nor'easter.

Testing expanded in Marlborough this week after the state opened a Stop the Spread site at a Best Western run by AFC Urgent Care.