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Home / Latest / COVID-19 testing in Lynn this week, updated candidate list, P-EBT update, + more | April 12, 2021

COVID-19 testing in Lynn this week, updated candidate list, P-EBT update, + more | April 12, 2021

LYNN NEWS ROUND-UP
APRIL 12, 2021

See our COVID-19 related posts by clicking here.


COVID-19 testing in Lynn this week

The City of Lynn was selected to be a part of the state’s “Stop the Spread” Initiative back in July of 2020. COVID-19 testing sites have been set up and are available for residents of Lynn to visit. Information about these testing sites are below.

PROJECT BEACON
Located at 398 Blossom St. in Lynn

The City of Lynn has been selected as one of four communities across the Commonwealth for a COVID-19 express testing site. The site will be run by Project Beacon which specializes in high-volume appointment only testing. The Lynn Project Beacon site has been extended through at least June 30th.

The site is located at the Blossom Street Extension parking lot, commonly known as the Lynn Ferry Terminal, and has the capacity to perform up to 2,000 tests per day. Residents will be able to schedule their test appointment in advance, drive up to the site at their assigned time, be tested from the comfort of their car, and receive their results within 24 hours. There will be no pedestrian, walk-up access allowed at this site. For all Massachusetts residents, there is no cost for this test, no health insurance is required, and you will not be asked about your immigration status.

Residents can create an account, make appointments, and view their test results all through one, online platform for the Project Beacon COVID-19 Express Testing site at the Blossom Street Extension by visiting app.beacontesting.com. If you have questions about getting tested or issues regarding appointments or results at Project Beacon, please go to www.mass.gov/express-testing,  call Project Beacon’s Call Center at 617-741-7310, or email at help@beacontesting.com. Appointments will become available several days in advance at a time.

MASS GENERAL BRIGHAM (MONDAYS ONLY)
Located in Lynn Marketplace – 43 State St. in Lynn

The City of Lynn has entered a partnership between Mass General Brigham and North Shore Medical Center to offer a testing site. A mobile van will offer free walk-up testing for asymptomatic Lynn adults and children every Monday from 1-5pm in the Lynn Marketplace parking lot at 43 State Street for the duration of the winter and spring. This testing site has moved from Manning Field.

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This walk-in testing is available for asymptomatic individuals who primarily live, work and go to school in Lynn. No insurance is needed, no ID is required, and no appointment is necessary. They will also not ask about immigration status.

This program is made possible in part through funding from the National Institutes of Health grant and RADx-UP (Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics in Underserved Populations). For more information please visit http://www.kraftcommunityhealth.org/mobile-covid-testing.

LYNN COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER
Located at 50 Blake St. in Lynn

Testing for COVID-19 is available for everyone in the Greater Lynn Community at Lynn Community Health Center through March 31st.  You may be tested regardless of your symptoms or exposure to COVID-19. Call 781-581-3900 for an appointment.  Appointments are strongly recommended, limited walk-in appointments are available. You do not need to be a patient at LCHC or have health insurance.

Two trailers were set up along the Blake Street side of the lot directly across from the health center to continue testing this winter. Patients enter the site through the gate across from the Mulberry Street alleyway and enter the first trailer for registration. They will exit the first trailer and proceed to the second trailer for testing. After their test they will exit the second trailer and leave the site through the gate across from the LCHC entrance. Patient movement will be one-way through the site,with plans in place to support social distancing at all times.

LCHC has created a video that helps explains how to make an appointment, what happens when you get to LCHC for your test, & how to access your testing results. Please click here to view the video.

LCHC Coronavirus Updates / informacion sobre covid19

COVID-19 testing times this week at LCHC:

  • Monday: 8:30 am – 12:30 pm
  • Tuesday: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
  • Wednesday: 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm
  • Thursday: 10:00am- 7:00 pm
  • Friday: 8:30 am – 12:30 pm

OTHER RESOURCES

  • Testing at Lynn Urgent Care – 776 Western Ave in Lynn
    • This location accepts MassHealth & tests children. Walk-ins are accepted, but it is recommended to make an appointment. This location is open from 8am-8pm every day, and you can call them at 781-281-7081 for more info. & to set up an appointment. Find out more by clicking here.

The information above was taken from the City of Lynn, Lynn Community
Health Center, & State of Massachusetts websites


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Find a mass vaccine location near you by clicking here. For phasing details and the most up-to-date vaccination timeline please click here.

For a list of workers currently eligible please click here.

A vaccination site has opened at Lynn Tech for Lynners.

Find out more & watch a video tour by clicking here.
Schedule an appointment by clicking here.


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P-EBT Update

Click to go to the P-EBT website

DTA is issuing a one-time special P-EBT payment TODAY, Monday, April 12th.

This payment is to account for the 15% increase in P-EBT benefit amounts. Most students in K-12 will receive either $9.20 (hybrid) or $19.20 (fully remote) for each month they received P-EBT from the start of the 2020-2021 school year through January. You will get your regular P-EBT payment to cover March on April 25th if eligible in March.
The monthly P-EBT amount for fully remote students has increased from $117.20 to $136.40. Learn more at map-ebt.org.
If you have a P‑EBT card, you can check your balance online at DTAConnect.com/PEBT

The above information is courtesy of the Mass DTA.


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INTERVIEW: Mass Health Connector

On this segment of the LCTV News: Lynn Lowdown we spoke to Audrey Morse Gasteier of Mass Health Connector about the new financial assistance for Health Insurance Premiums. Watch the interview from our website below.


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Current list of candidates in 2021 City of Lynn Municipal Elections

Click to see our FREE election coverage

Below is a list of all candidates who have taken out nomination papers so far for the School Committee, City Council, & Mayoral races for this year’s elections. We will be conducting informal interviews with Mayoral candidates before our more formal interviews this summer, & will be linked below.

This list is provided to us by the City of Lynn Election Office & is current as of April 12th at 11am.

  • MAYOR – Darren Cyr (interview)  |  Jared Nicolson (interview)  |  Michael Satterwhite (interview)
  • COUNCILOR AT-LARGE – *Buzzy Barton  |  Jose Encarnacion    |  *Brian Field  |  Marven Hyppolite  |  *Brian LaPierre  |  Nicole McClain  |  *Hong Net
  • WARD 1 – *Wayne Lozzi
  • WARD 2 – Elizabeth Figueroa  |  *Rick Starbard
  • WARD 3 – **Coco Alinsug  |  George Meimeteas
  • WARD 4 – *Richard Colucci  |  Natasha Megie-Maddrey
  • WARD 5 – *Dianna Chakoutis  |  Sandra Suarez
  • WARD 6 – *Fred Hogan
  • WARD 7 – *Jay Walsh
  • SCHOOL COMMITTEE – *Brian Castellanos  |  *Donna Coppola  |  Eric Dugan  |  *John Ford Jr.  |  *Lorraine Gately  |  Sandra Lopez  |  Tiffany Magnolia  |  Rocio Mora  |  Lenny Pena

 * denotes an incumbent     ** Currently on LCTV Board of Directors


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Updates from state government

  • As of Sunday night, DPH reported a total of 615,947 cases of COVID-19. The state reported 2,184 new confirmed cases. The state has now confirmed a total of 17,031 deaths from the virus.
  • The House will release its FY 22 budget recommendations on Wednesday with amendments due on Friday afternoon. The House is scheduled to debate the budget the week of April 26th.
  • Legislative leaders on Friday outlined plans to advance a $400 million bill funding the construction of a new Holyoke Soldiers’ Home but it’s unclear if their timeline will be fast enough to quickly secure federal funding. The House plans to vote next week on the bill, a formal session is planned on Thursday, and legislative leaders indicated they still plan to enact changes this session to reform how Massachusetts delivers and oversees veterans’ services. In a joint statement, House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka announced the House’s plans for next week and said Senate action on the funding bill will follow “in the coming weeks.”
  • The number of cities and towns that meet the Department of Public Health’s criteria for the red high-risk category increased 40 percent from last week, has now climbed for four consecutive weeks and has more than doubled in two weeks. (EDITOR’S NOTE: Click here for a summary of last week’s numbers) There are now 77 Massachusetts communities “in the red,” meaning the state considers them to have the highest risk of COVID-19 transmission as the race between the ongoing vaccination push and the spread of coronavirus mutants intensifies. The red community designations remain well below the January peak when almost two-thirds of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts were considered high-risk. There were also 154 communities in DPH’s moderate-risk yellow category this week, 23 in the green category and 97 cities and towns that did not record enough cases to warrant a categorization.
  • One of the two regional transit agencies contracted by the Baker administration to manage transportation for thousands of low-income and disabled health service recipients told its vendors in February that it will be at least a year before they’re required to comply with some required technology and vehicle upgrades touted in the new contract. The Montachusett Regional Transit Authority told the network of transportation providers across much of the state that they would not be required to rebid for program-based routes or install new technology, such as GPS and on-board cameras, until a full procurement can be done for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2022.
  • The transit agency said in a letter it was “simply not feasible” to conduct a full procurement before its contract and the new fiscal year begins on July 1. The Montachusett RTA, known as MART, was one of two regional transit agencies awarded contracts to run the $275 million Human Services Transportation program as part of a consolidation that saw the number of regions across the state shrink from six to three. MART and the Greater Attleboro Taunton Regional Transit Authority won contracts in January to manage the program for the entire state, with the Leominster-based MART in charge of two regions from the Berkshires to Cape Ann.
  • More than 77 lawmakers in March asked the Baker administration for a two-year moratorium on changes to the program, arguing that the middle of a pandemic was not the time to risk potential disruption to a service relied upon each year for 9 million rides to doctors appointments and other services. Rep. William Straus and Rep. Sarah Peake, who are spearheading the opposition, now say MART’s decision to delay some of the safety and efficiency reforms required under the new contracts underscores their point that the transition should be postponed.

Special thanks to MassAccess for providing us with these updates.


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From Mayor McGee’s office: The Lynn Public Health Department has confirmed that as of today, the number of active, confirmed positive COVID-19 cases is 404 with 18 new cases today. 16,336 Lynn residents have recovered and 212 have died. The total number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Lynn since March 21, 2020, including those who have died and recovered, is 16,952. Please visit the City of Lynn COVID-19 Data Dashboard which is updated daily.

COVID-19 vaccine appointments are available at Lynn Tech Fieldhouse for people who live or work in Lynn & Nahant or are Lynn Community Health Center Patients and meet state eligibility requirements (Massachusetts Phase 1 & Phase 2 Steps 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5: 55  year of age or older or with one or more chronic health conditions, Educators and certain workers. Residents age 75+ may be accompanied by one caregiver who can book an appointment themselves.) Please visithttps://www.lchcnet.org/covid-19-vaccine-scheduling to make an appointment online. Residents without access to the Internet can call 2-1-1 to make an appointment 7 days a week.

If you have a news story that you would like to share, please contact us via email or call 781-780-9460.

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