MARLBOROUGH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Gov. Charlie Baker said Massachusetts is aiming to be able to test 3,500 people per day for COVID-19 by next week.
Baker spoke about the goal and other testing updates with reporters after touring the Quest Diagnostics laboratory in Marlboro Thursday morning, where coronavirus testing is taking place.
"We believe that over the next several days and weeks, there will be an enormous increase in the amount of testing that takes place on a daily basis," Baker said. "It can't happen fast enough."
Quest Diagnostics CEO Steve Rusckowski says all 45,000 employees nationwide are working on the coronavirus crisis, and the company has made "great strides" in the last few weeks as far as testing capability.
"I'm proud to say, by Saturday, we'll have close to 20,000 test per day capacity within Quest Diagnostics," he said.
The priority for who gets tested first in Massachusetts includes healthcare workers, first responders, and people who are hospitalized.
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports
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