Framingham Gets New Free Drive-Thru Coronavirus Test Site
FRAMINGHAM, MA — After weeks of increasing wait times at Framingham's single drive-up coronavirus testing site, a new drive-up site is opening under the state's Stop the Spread program.
The new drive-up testing site will be located on Framingham State University property at 484 Franklin St. Unlike the other drive-up testing site at the TJX headquarters, the new site, run by Project Beacon, will be by appointment only.
Anyone who wants a test will have to create an account with Project Beacon. As of Monday morning, there were no testing times available for the Framingham site. Project Beacon also runs a testing site in Revere, which was accepting reservations with the earliest slots available Tuesday.
The new Framingham testing site comes after the TJX site has been overwhelmed recently. The free testing sites are open to any state resident, and many surrounding communities are seeing a rise in cases — and a rise in people seeking tests.
Recently, the town of Milford asked state officials for a testing site. Milford and every community that surrounds it is on the state's red "high-risk" list. But the closest free Stop the Spread testing sites are in either Framingham, Worcester or Marlborough. State officials have declined to open a Stop the Spread site in Milford.
Framingham has a third testing site at the South Middlesex Opportunity Council, 7 Bishop St., open weekdays 3 to 6 p.m. The TJX site, 770 Cochituate Road, is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Project Beacon is jointly funded by the Broad Institute, F Prime Capital, and Google Ventures, and has been involved this fall in providing low-cost coronavirus testing for employers across Massachusetts.
This article originally appeared on the Framingham Patch
