© 2024
Local NPR for the Cape, Coast & Islands 90.1 91.1 94.3
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How to Book an Appointment for Reduced-Price COVID-19 Testing on Cape Cod

Two sites that offer reduced-price COVID-19 testing on Cape Cod are now taking appointments.

The test is the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, considered the most accurate form of COVID-19 test. People who are asymptomatic are welcome.

The tests are priced at $75 for people who are asymptomatic, a discount of up to 50 percent off the regional market rate, according to local officials. Free tests are available to people who are unable to pay; they must confirm inability to pay when they book an appointment.

Testing is by appointment only at the Cape Cod Melody Tent in Hyannis and Cape Cod Fairgrounds in Falmouth.

To schedule an appointment, call the Community Testing Line at 508-862-5595.

For people who have potential COVID-19 symptoms or who have been notified by a contact tracer of known exposure, the cost will be processed through insurance.

For people traveling from outside of Massachusetts and taking the test to comply with state requirements, the cost is $110.

Officials say patients should receive test results within 48 to 72 hours.

The discount is supported by money from the supplemental state budget (secured by legislators from the Cape and Islands), Barnstable County, and Cape Cod Healthcare.

Patients will pull up in their vehicles and receive a nasal swab to self-administer. At the Melody Tent, members of the Hyannis Fire Department will assist with the collection of samples; public health volunteers will do the same at the fairgrounds.

Masks are required at the test sites. Spanish and Portuguese translation services will be available.

Health officials are asking people who get tested to continue taking precautions to reduce the risk of transmission, even if they receive a negative result. That includes wearing a mask both indoors and outdoors when interacting with someone outside the person’s immediate household.

If you have symptoms: Officials are asking individuals who are symptomatic to first call their primary care physician for a screening. Those who do not have a primary care physician should call the Community Testing Line at 508-862-5595 to be screened by a provider from Cape Cod Healthcare. Cape Cod Healthcare will contact screened individuals to schedule an appointment for testing at a drive-through testing location.

Additional testing sites are planned on the Lower and Outer Cape in coordination with Outer Cape Health Services. Details of those sites have not been announced.

Hours of the open sites are as follows:

Cape Cod Melody Tent, Hyannis
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
Beginning Dec. 19: Saturday and Sunday, 8 a.m.-noon

Barnstable County Fairgrounds, Falmouth
Tuesday and Wednesday only, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

The Cape Cod Reopening Task Force helped plan this testing effort, along with the Barnstable County government, state legislators from the Cape and Islands, and Cape Cod Healthcare.

Jennette Barnes is a reporter and producer. Named a Master Reporter by the New England Society of News Editors, she brings more than 20 years of news experience to CAI.