COVID-19 Testing at HCC to End on Dec. 31

HOLYOKE — Curative will end its COVID-19 testing program at Holyoke Community College (HCC) on Dec. 31.

HCC has been a host site for COVID-19 testing since the summer of 2020, soon after the pandemic began, initially through the state’s Stop the Spread testing program. The healthcare company Curative has been offering free COVID-19 tests at HCC since April 2022 in partnership with the college and the Holyoke Board of Health.

“HCC was more than happy to provide our facilities over the last two and half years so people in the community could get tested,” said Narayan Sampath, HCC’s vice president of Administration and Finance. “As a community college, it is our responsibility to be there for the residents of neighboring cities and towns in any way we can. We owe a lot to our facilities and campus safety departments, who worked closely with Curative and the Holyoke Board of Health to make it happen.”

HCC was informed about the program’s closure in an email last month from Marlon Marte, Curative’s New England manager.

“When we responded to the pandemic back in 2020, we knew we had an opportunity to serve communities and people across the U.S. with access to easy and affordable COVID-19 testing,” Marte said. “Through on-the-ground partnerships such as ours, we made testing more accessible and helped mitigate the biggest public-health crisis in our country in more than a century. We should all be proud of what we’ve been able to achieve in helping the country navigate through these difficult and challenging years. Now, as demand for our method of testing decreases significantly with the prevalence of other options, it’s clear our job is done and we are entering a post-pandemic era. With that in mind, effective January 1, 2023, Curative will conclude our COVID-19 testing services.”

Until then, Curative will continue to offer testing at HCC in parking lot R, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“We thank you again for your steadfast partnership as we navigated the uncharted waters of COVID together,” Marte said. “Communities are safer and healthier because of your commitment.”

Curative uses self-collected, shallow nasal PCR tests. Results are generally available in one to two days. Testing is free. Slots can be reserved at cur.tv/hcc. Appointments are preferred. Testing hours may change due to inclement weather or holidays.

Additional Massachusetts testing locations can be found at mass.gov/covid.