Many state-sponsored free COVID-19 PCR testing locations will close, effective Saturday. In turn, the state Department of Public Health will focus on providing COVID-19 resources to Connecticut residents through Test to Treat sites, the DPH mobile van clinic and self-test kits.
DPH announced Wednesday that it is partnering with four federally qualified local health centers to continue providing no-cost COVID-19 testing and treatment in 2023: Charter Oak Health Center in Hartford, Fair Haven Community Health Clinic in New Haven, Family Centers Health Care in Greenwich and Southwest Community Health Center in Bridgeport.
The agency also announced that Connecticut has more than 40 Test to Treat locations available and that each household is eligible to receive four free at-home COVID test kits from the federal government.
“As we approach the three-year mark of this pandemic, we have many more ways to deal effectively with COVID-19. This includes the COVID-19 vaccines and updated boosters, Test to Treat locations, the mobile van clinics and the wide availability of COVID-19 self-test kits,” Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD, said in a statement Wednesday.
The state-sponsored COVID-19 testing sites will still be available at no cost until Dec. 31st. No appointment is required to be tested, but some locations offer pre-registration services.
The Bristol testing site is located at 150 N Main St, next to McDonald’s. It runs Thursday and Friday from noon to 6 p.m.
Hartford hosts two sites. One is located at 1161 Albany Ave and runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday. The other is at Charter
Oak Health Center, Inc, located on 21 Grand Street and is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In Meriden, free testing is available at 13 Orange St. from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday.
New Haven hosts two testing sites. One is located on the New Haven Green at 250 Temple St and runs Thursday from noon to 2 p.m. The other is located at the Fair Haven Community Health Clinic on 374 Grand Ave. It runs from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. and opens again from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday, but will be closed Monday, Jan. 2.
Both Charter Oak Health Center in Hartford and Fair Haven Community Health Clinic in New Haven will continue offering free COVID-19 testing and treatment next year through their DPH partnership.
To learn more about available COVID-19 resources, go to https://portal.ct.gov/coronavirus.
To find free or low-cost COVID-19 tests in your area, go to https://www.hhs.gov/coronavirus/community-based-testing-sites/index.html.
To find a local Test and Treat center, go to https://aspr.hhs.gov/TestToTreat/Pages/default.aspx.
cvillalonga@record-journal.com203-317-2448