A COVID-19 testing site dedicated only to Boston's first responders opened Saturday at Suffolk Downs in East Boston.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced the designated site to test for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, in a press conference on Friday. Walsh is expected to visit the site on Saturday.
"This is an important step to keeping our first responders safe and healthy and we have to do that because our first responders are our front-line folks," Walsh said on Friday.
Starting Monday, community-based VA clinics in Framingham, Quincy and Plymouth will temporarily close, VA Boston Healthcare System announced Saturday.
“The health and safety of our Veterans, staff and community is paramount,” Vincent Ng, Director, VA Boston Healthcare System said in a written statement.
The clinics will continue to provide telehealth services. The clinics' staff will either work virtually or work from another VA Boston site in West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain or Brockton, according to a written statement by the VA Boston Healthcare System.
Multiple Boston firefighters, eight city police officers and at least one EMT have all tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days.
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Additionally, more than 150 employees of Boston area hospitals have tested positive as the crisis continues to deepen.
