Local

Many families getting tested after Thanksgiving weekend

CAMBRIDGE — Many families who tried to return to their traditional Thanksgiving rituals are now starting a new holiday tradition - Covid testing after a family gathering.

CIC Health is bracing itself for more people to begin booking testing appointments - not just because of the new Omicron variant, but also because of the holidays. They are expanding their hours to help meet those needs.

The state has 459 testing sites listed on its testing locator. Through the “Stop the Spread” program, 36 offer free testing. Local health departments also have resources - and home testing can be purchased at retail stores, and can even be done free through some programs.

CIC Health says their lab only reports the specific variant it detects to the state - not to the person being tested.

Since Thanksgiving, the company says it is averaging about 150 tests per day - at each location.