500-Plus Flock To Vernon For Coronavirus Testing

VERNON, CT — A free state-sponsored drive-up coronavirus testing offered in Vernon Sunday reached capacity with an hour to spare.

The testing was available at Rockville High School, sponsored by by the town of Vernon and the North Central District Health Department with the State Department of Public Health.

Sema4 Laboratories is conducting the testing and, by 3 p.m. had reached the limit of 524 tests. The event was slated to last until 4.

According to Sema4 Lab's on-site coordinator, this was one of the largest and most organized and well-managed testing clinics in the state.

"We attribute our ability to safely and efficiently manage a large scale operation like this to our dedicated and experienced staff as well as to our battle-proven incident command system that we have effectively utilized throughout the years to plan for and respond to other events and emergencies," Vernon Town Administrator Michael Purcaro said.

It was the second event hosted by Vernon this month. Purcaro said more will likely be staged in the future.