In the News

SPRINGFIELD — The city has received an initial allotment of 300 COVID-19 testing kits for use at a new tent triage area for the homeless.

The delivery was aided by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and Gov. Charlie Baker’s office, city officials said Wednesday.

The city recently erected the three-tent complex on Worthington Street across the street from the Friends of the Homeless Shelter. The facility was set up to test individuals and house then pending results or while they recovered. Test kits were not immediately available, however.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Health and Human Services Commissioner Helen Caulton-Harris thanked Neal and the Baker administration for their support in getting the kits. The city is still trying to secure as many more kits as possible, a city spokesman said.

Neal, D-Springfield, chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, said in a news release that he recognized the urgency of the situation and contacted the state to provide the test kits.

“Phase One of the Coronavirus Relief Act was about testing, testing, testing,” Neal said. “While it is imperative that the tests get into the hands of health care providers who need them most, we must not forget our most vulnerable populations as well.”

Neal praised Sarno and his team, as well as Mercy Medical Center, Friends of the Homeless and others who worked to create the tent triage area and “their herculean effort in constructing, staffing, and preparing this facility for opening in such a timely manner.”

Sarno said the kits “will go a long way in helping the city’s continuing efforts of being proactive with the preventative health measures the city continues to implement for the wellbeing of our residents and business community.”

The homeless health center is a collaboration between the city, Mercy Medical Center and Open Door Community Services, Caulton-Harris said.

“In order to be effective in our mitigation strategies it is imperative that we are able to test our most vulnerable populations especially our homeless,” Caulton-Harris said. “These test kits will help us identify those who are infected with COVID-19 and rule out those who are negative.”

The ability to provide effective intervention strategies depends on the ability to test, identify and isolate those people who are positive for COVID-19, Caulton-Harris said.

The city has contacted the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, seeking to secure an Abbott machine for rapid testing, said Bill Baker, communications director for Sarno. However, the city was told that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has embargoed that equipment and taken it under its control and distribution authority, he said.