DPH shuts down unlicensed pop-up COVID testing site on Grafton Street in Worcester

WORCESTER — The state Department of Public Health shut down a pop-up COVID-19 testing site on Grafton Street that it says was unlicensed.

The DPH issued cease-and-desist letters to the Center for COVID Control sites in Worcester, Needham and North Dartmouth.

The letters came in response to complaints about the privately owned, Illinois-based company and a survey Wednesday taken in conjunction with the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The survey revealed that the sites were providing tests without the required state approvals, DPH said in its letter.

The Center for COVID Control, which says on its website that it has 300 locations across the country and which reports indicate is under investigation in several states, announced Thursday that it will temporarily pause further collection of patient specimens effective Friday with plans to reopen Jan. 22 owing to the high demand for testing due to the omicron variant surge.

More: What's the Center for COVID Control? Questionable sites spotlight nation's thirst for quick testing

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: DPH shuts down unlicensed pop-up COVID testing site on Grafton Street in Worcester