State setting up five new coronavirus testing locations

CONCORD — The state is setting up five new drive-in coronavirus test sites this week, including in Tamworth and Plymouth, for people who have symptoms of the disease and have a referral from a provider.

The five sites, which also include Lancaster, Claremont and Rochester, are part of a new testing strategy that starts Wednesday in an effort to meet a short-term goal of testing 1,500 people per day, Gov. Chris Sununu said. Over the last two months, about 18,000 people have been tested.

Testing is also available at 11 ConvenientMD locations throughout the state. A mobile testing operation is also working with long-term care facilities, which account for more than half of the state’s 60 coronavirus-related deaths.

A robust testing system is one of the prerequisites for beginning to open portions of the state’s economy that have been closed to limit the spread of the highly contagious disease.

Also, officials will be looking for two weeks of declining case numbers. So far, the disease appears to have reached a plateau in the state, but there is not yet an indication of decline.

Many of the restrictions placed on businesses are set to expire on May 4, but that date may be extended.