Dear Community Members,
I am happy to announce that there will be increased staffing and a few changes in operations at the Stop the Spread test sites in Holyoke.
Beginning this week, staffing at both test sites will be increased. The staff at the drive-through site has been doubled in order to lower wait times and increase the volume of vehicles that can be accepted.
Changes have been made in operations at the drive-through site to clearly establish an end point in testing availability each day. We hope to eliminate the possibility of visitors to the site waiting in long lines, only to be turned away at the end of the testing session at 11am or 7pm.
Under the new procedures, the last eligible vehicle for testing (for that day’s testing session) will be established as soon as can be reasonably determined. That vehicle, and any vehicle in line before it, will be tested even if they don’t reach the testing area by the set end of the session at 11am or 7pm.
Any newcomers behind the last eligible vehicle (for that day’s testing session) will be informed as soon as possible that they are not eligible for testing that day and will be turned away. This should prevent visitors to the site waiting in line without getting tested.
We’d prefer not to turn anyone away, but it will likely continue to happen until another Stop the Spread site opens or case counts decrease.
Regards,
Sean Gonsalves, RS
Director of Health
Holyoke Board of Health