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The state will add four new “swab and send” coronavirus testing facilities to the 18 sites already in place around Maine as part of its plans to contain the spread of COVID-19, it announced on Tuesday.
The Town of Westbrook, Redington-Fairview General Hospital of Skowhegan, Penobscot Valley Hospital of Lincoln and York County Community Action Corp. of Sanford will be the new sites, according to a statement released by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday.
The sites will send samples to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory for testing, thus making it easier for residents, tourists and seasonal workers to monitor their own health and help contain the spread of the disease.
The sites will offer specimen collection free of charge to anyone who might have COVID-19 or might have been exposed to the virus. The sites operate under several models, including drive up, drive through, mobile, and office settings. They typically require an appointment, according to the statement.
About $1 million in federal funding will also go to rural hospitals to increase their labs’ capacity to process COVID-19 tests, the state said.