Salem 'Stop the Spread' Coronavirus Test Sites Extended 3 Months

SALEM, MA — Salem's coronavirus testing sites at the high school and Old Town Hall should be open at least another three months after Gov. Charlie Baker's office said on Tuesday that all "Stop the Spread" testing sites across the state had been extended until at least June 30.

The program was set to end on March 31.

The Salem sites are a drive-thru site at Salem High School late afternoon and early evening, and the walk-up site at Old Town Hall. Both are free and open to all state residents.

There are 35 testing sites statewide.

"Testing is one of the important public health tools, in addition to contact tracing, complying with public health mitigation measures such as face coverings, physical distancing, staying home when sick, and good hygiene, to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," the Baker administration said.

The state said that since it began testing in July the "Stop the Spread" sites have conducted more than 1.8 million tests across the state. That makes up nearly 11 percent of all statewide coronavirus tests (16.8 million).

"The Stop the Spread initiative is a data-driven effort to reduce the prevalence of COVID-19 in communities across the Commonwealth," the Baker administration said.

The city said on Tuesday that 112,460 tests have been conducted of Salem residents.

The state reported a seven-day rolling average positive test rate of 1.67 on Monday — down from a post-holiday surge of 8.6 percent in early January. The lowest level since widespread testing began in July was 0.8 percent in September.

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