With on-site COVID-19 testing to be available to schools in the fall, and with COVID-19 testing now more accessible in traditional healthcare settings, six State-run testing sites for school and child care communities will wind down operations at the end of July, Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) are announcing.
Last month, the State released a plan to support full in-person learning for the fall. School-based testing is a crucial component of that plan. Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and schools will have opt-in choices for how to design and resource their testing plans. Options will include symptomatic testing, outbreak testing, and asymptomatic testing. RIDOH and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) will support LEAs and schools as administrators develop their COVID-19 testing programs.
In September 2020, the State opened a network of testing sites exclusively for school and child care communities to support the return to in-person learning and child care. While six of these sites are closing, five school and child care testing sites will remain open. Rhode Island has 14 additional fixed testing locations, and Rhode Islanders can also get tested in retail pharmacies, respiratory clinics, the offices of primary care providers, and at mobile and pop-up testing opportunities. To be responsive to potential increases in the demand for testing, Rhode Island will maintain significantly more testing capacity than is currently being utilized.
Saturday, July 31st, will be the last day for COVID-19 testing at the following locations:
- Bristol Stop & Shop Parking Lot: 605 Metacom Ave.; Bristol, RI 02809 - Cranston Stop & Shop Parking Lot: 275 Warwick Ave.; Cranston, RI 02905 - Lincoln YMCA Parking Lot: 32 Breakneck Hill Rd.; Lincoln, RI 02865 - Providence Stop & Shop Parking Lot: 850 Manton Ave.; Providence, RI 02909 - Smithfield Fidelity Investment Headquarters Parking Lot: 100 Salem St.; Smithfield, RI 02917 - Westerly Walmart Parking Lot: 258 Post Rd.; Westerly, RI 02891.
For more information about COVID-19 testing in Rhode Island, visit covid.ri.gov/testing.