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The Department of Health and Vermont National Guard opened a new testing site in Putney Sunday as the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state rose to 235.
Health Department officials announced that 24 more people had tested positive for the virus.
The National Guard is operating the state’s testing site at Landmark College.
The site was set to begin operating Sunday morning, and will operate between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. through the week. The hours and the duration of the temporary testing site will depend on the availability of supplies according to the state.
The Putney testing facility opens two days after state officials announced a more expansive approach to testing for the virus than has previously been available. It is the latest of several pop-up and drive-through testing facilities opened around the state.
While tests are now more widely available in Vermont, people still need a referral from their primary care provider in order to be tested.
Broad testing for the virus has been proven elsewhere to be a successful strategy to limit the spread, according to Health Commissioner Mark Levine, who is optimistic the approach will work in Vermont.
“Vermont is still early enough on the curve of positive cases that increased testing can have a large impact on our ability to flatten that curve,” he said in a statement.
Though expanded testing will mean the state will use supplies more quickly, Levine said that testing more people now is a better approach. Anybody who is identified as having the illness can self-isolate, and steps can be taken to track other people who they have been in contact with.
Twelve people diagnosed with COVID-19 have died since the outbreak began. No new deaths were reported Sunday.
