Free drive-through Covid-19 tests will take place starting Thursday, Oct. 1 throughout October in District 2 at Walsh Middle School on Brook Street. Testing will be open Mondays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. No appointment or insurance is needed, and anyone can be tested, whether or not they have symptoms.
The test center at Walsh replaces the September location at Staples headquarters.
Results are expected in about 72 hours, according to the announcement, although several people who were tested at Staples said results came in sooner. Fallon Ambulance is conducting the tests.
Free walk-up testing continues at South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC), 7 Bishop St., Mon, Wed and Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m.; and at Amazing Things Arts Center, 160 Hollis St., Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3 to 6 p.m. As with the Walsh testing, no appointment or health insurance is needed and anyone can request a test.
The state is funding free testing in Framingham because the city remains a high-risk “red-zone” Covid-19 community with average known new cases per 100,000 exceeding 8. The Baker administration does not consider test positivity rates or tests per capita when classifying a community at high risk.