PROVIDENCE – With a rise of COVID-19 cases and the arrival of the omicron variant, the R.I. Department of Health is making coronavirus testing more widely available this week ahead of holiday gatherings.
A new COVID-19 testing site opened on Monday at the Chapel View Shopping Center, located at 100 Sockanosset Cross Road in Cranston, where the state has also been operating a mass vaccination clinic, the Department of Health and Gov. Daniel J. McKee announced Monday.
Earlier this month, state officials said they would close its Cranston vaccination clinic on Dec. 18, but the Department of Health said the site will now stay open at least until January. The state is also keeping open its 585 Taunton Ave. vaccination site in East Providence at least until the end of the month, after first announcing it would close on Dec. 29.
The Sockanosset Cross Road site will be open seven days a week for rapid testing by appointment only, health officials said. Rhode Island residents can make an appointment by going online to www.portal.ri.gov.
The Department of Health said it also plans to open additional testing sites “in the coming weeks” and that details on those new sites will be posted online.
The state said it’s beefing up “rapid testing” availability at six existing testing sites, now offering speed results to people who don’t have any symptoms of COVID-19. Previously, only more slow-moving PCR tests were offered to adults who are asymptomatic.
However, children in kindergarten through 12th grade will undergo PCR tests if they are asymptomatic, according to the Department of Health. But the shift to rapid testing for all adults at state testing sites will decrease the log jam for these PCR tests, the department said.
“While expanding access to rapid tests in advance of the holidays, these measures will also help reduce turnaround times for PCR tests at state-run sites,” the Department of Health said Monday. “Additionally, the state is currently onboarding additional private laboratories to expand PCR testing capacity.”
Those six existing testing sites include the Barrington Shopping Center, 184 County Road, Barrington; Blackstone Valley Community Health, 964 Broad St. Central Falls; Cranston Parkade storefront, 322 Garfield Ave. Cranston; the Rhode Island Convention Center ticket booth, 1 Sabin St., Providence; the Smithfield VFW, 47 Farnum Pike Smithfield; and the Warwick Shopping Plaza, 545 Greenwich Ave. Warwick. Appointments must be made online ahead of time.
“To help the testing sites run smoothly, people are asked to arrive on time for their appointments,” the Department of Health said.
In addition to these test sites, McKee announced last week that the state is sending 100,000 COVID-19 self-test kits to community organizations “in Rhode Island’s hardest-hit communities.” And the Department of Health said it’s working to obtain 1 million more self-test kits to distribute throughout the state.
Marc Larocque is a PBN staff writer. Contact him at Larocque@PBN.com.
