Marlborough COVID-19 Test Site Reducing Hours Before Full Closure

MARLBOROUGH, MA — Ahead of an upcoming closure at the end of March, the COVID-19 testing site in Marlborough will begin to reduce its hours over the next few weeks, according to officials.

The Stop the Spread site at the New England Sports Center, run by UMass Memorial's Marlborough Hospital, is one of 11 across Massachusetts that will close April 1. Stop the Spread sites in Framingham and Worcester will remain open after April 1, according to state officials.

In place of the drive-thru testing site, the state is sending 2,880 at-home test kits to Marlborough for distribution in April. The state recently ordered 26 million at-home tests, which will be distributed to communities across the state this spring.

The Marlborough site is typically open weekdays from 8 to 11 a.m. This week, the site will be closed on Friday. Starting March 14, the drive-thru site will only be open 8 to 11 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays until March 31.

Demand for coronavirus tests skyrocketed near Christmas as the omciron wave was cresting over Massachusetts. But infection rates have dropped to lows not seen since last summer in recent weeks — the statewide positive test rate dropped below 2 percent on March 1.