Free state Covid testing clinic starts at GCC’s Albion campus

Testing will be offered at campus center through next week

Photo by Tom Rivers: The sign at the entryway of the GCC campus center in Albion directs people down the hall for Covid test. The service started today and will continue through the end of next week.

ALBION – A free Covid testing site started today at the GCC campus center in Albion. It will continue Thursday and Friday this week, and Monday through Saturday next week. The testing site at 456 West Ave. is open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

It’s one of 13 new testing sites being paid for by the state to help identify people who are positive for Covid so they can isolate and not spread the virus.

The site offers tests by appointment, as well as walk-ins. It will offer RT-PCR testing. Rapid antigen and rapid PCR tests will also be available within a few days of opening, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office said. Click here for more information about making an appointment.

The state set a new pandemic record for positive Covid tests on Tuesday who 67,090. That passes 49,708 positive tests on Dec. 24.

The positive tests on Tuesday included 41 in Orleans County and 84 in Genesee.

On Tuesday, the percentage of tests that were positive was 18.50 state-wide. The 7-day average state-wide for positive tests is now 14.61 percent.

Orleans about three weeks ago had the highest positvity rate in the state, but now is much lower. The percent of positive tests over 7 days in Orleans County is at 8.2 percent and in Genesee it’s 9.5 percent.