Coronavirus

As Cases Spike and Thanksgiving Approaches, People Wait in Long Lines for COVID-19 Tests

Cars lined up in Framingham, Massachusetts, as people waited to get tested for coronavirus before next week's holiday

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COVID-19 testing lines are getting longer in Massachusetts with Thanksgiving right around the corner.

The TJX headquarters parking lot in Framingham was shut down periodically Tuesday, given the large number of people looking to get checked for coronavirus, with a surge underway ahead of the holiday next week.

As we get closer to Thanksgiving, long lines are forming for free COVID-19 tests.

"We're only doing something small for the holidays, just our immediate family. But I mean, it's something that we want to make sure we're on top off," said Amy Ross of Natick.

"I got a head cold. I'm sick, but I know I don't have COVID. But I just want to get the test and say I did it," said Dan Slyman of Franklin.

Fallon Ambulance manages the Framingham site, where as many as 600 people are getting tested each day. Results are typically available in 24 to 36 hours, despite the increased demand around the state.

"We got a lot more people getting tested because they want to know, especially if they're going to go travel," said Dan Scanlon of Fallon Ambulance.

The average wait time Tuesday morning was more than an hour. Paperwork was checked online before people went to the head of the queue, where they received a PCR test with a quick, painless swab of the nose.

"If you have any symptoms, this one is really accurate, even though it only goes a centimeter deep," Tahalia Rossitter of Fallon Ambulance said of the test being administered. "If you have no symptoms, it's still about 80% accurate."

The Framingham testing site is open through Dec. 30.

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