STATE HOUSE – Senate Minority Leader Dennis L. Algiere (R-Dist. 38, Westerly, Charlestown, South Kingstown) and the Senate Republican Caucus released the following statement concerning the lack of access to rapid and PCR testing for COVID-19 in Rhode Island.

“We are hearing from our constituents, and from residents throughout the state, that they are simply unable to access COVID-19 tests in South County or throughout the state. They can’t find at-home tests, and there is no availability at the public testing sites. If they are fortunate enough to get an appointment, they have to wait inexcusable time periods to learn the results of their PCR tests. The residents of District 38, and throughout the state, are justifiably concerned for their health and wellbeing as the Delta and Omicron variants continue to sweep through Rhode Island,” said Leader Algiere.

“As case numbers soar, we are calling for an immediate scale-up of testing. We need more at-home rapid tests and far more state-run testing capacity in order to provide residents with their infection status in a timely and useful manner. A positive test result does nothing to protect our communities if the result is received after someone has already recovered from the virus. We have been at this for far too long to be this bad at it. We need to do better to protect our residents from COVID-19 infection, and this is only possible with a robust and efficient testing protocol, something the state is lacking at this time,” concluded Leader Algiere.