The city of New Haven, Connecticut, is offering free COVID testing at some public schools ahead of the return of in-person classes on November 9.
The pop-up sites cater to school staff, students and families in the neighborhood.
Maritza Bond is the city’s Director of Health. She said it’s important for people to get tested. The state has designated towns with rising case rates in a color coded system, and New Haven is on the list.
“New Haven is in the yellow, others are in the red and so it’s important to know your surroundings and to be able to practice the necessary safety measures to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19,” Bond said.
Justin Elicker, mayor of New Haven, said free testing is one of several ways the city is preparing for in-person classes.
“The facilities folks at New Haven Public Schools have been working very hard to upgrade the HVAC system, to put in plexi glass, signage, make sure there’s isolation rooms in case there’s a student midday that might have a temperature, they’re going through a checklist at each of the schools to make sure they’re going to be ready on November 9,” Elicker said.
Elicker said he can’t make testing mandatory, but he wants to make it as easy as possible.
Bond asks residents to bring a form of I.D. and wear a two-layer mask to the test centers. For questions about testing and location hours, call 203-946-4949.