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Saybrook Site Tests More Than 3,100 People

Originally posted at Zip06

As of Dec. 10, just more than 3,100 people had been tested for COVID-19 at the Community Health Center (CHC) location in Saybrook, according to an update that evening from the town’s Emergency Operation Center (EOC). Testing is available seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Saybrook Point and is free. Appointments are not required.

A little more than 1,600 of those tested at the site were Saybrook residents, according to the EOC. Anyone is welcome to get tested at the location; those from outside Saybrook who used the Old Saybrook CHC facility came from Deep River, Westbrook, and Clinton. Results take two to three days.

The CHC testing location at Hammonassett Beach in Madison, which opened on Dec. 4, has relieved some of the pressure on the Saybrook site, according to Leslie Gianelli, the CHC’s vice president of communications.

“On average we’re seeing just over 200 tests conducted a day, although it has been as high as nearly 400 right before Thanksgiving,” she said by email. “We expect volume to remain steady through the holidays.”

The average wait time, according to the EOC, is two hours, but those vary according to the day and time, said Gianelli.

“We are implementing an improved registration system next week at all sites,” she said. “At sites where this has been piloted, wait times have been considerably reduced. So this is good news for people seeking tests.”

As of the Dec. 10 EOC update, there had been a total of 165 confirmed cases in Saybrook since March, not including those in convalescent facilities. The previous week saw 32 new confirmed cases in the town. The town remains in the state Department of Public Health’s red category, designated as having 15 or more cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents.

As of Dec. 11, all but six towns and cities in Connecticut were designated as red.

The Madison testing site is located in the park campgrounds at Hammonassett State Beach and is also open seven days a week from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.