Peabody Free, Drive-Thru Coronavirus Testing Set For Wednesday

PEABODY, MA — Peabody will offer the second of two free, drive-thru coronavirus testing days on Wednesday.

Testing will take place at Higgins Middle School from 4 to 7 p.m. Those being tested should bring proof of residency with pre-registration available here.

Testing is encouraged for asymptomatic residents to get a better surveillance gauge of the virus in the city.

Coronavirus rates continued to decline in the city last week after it was one of the final communities on the North Shore to drop out of the state's group of "high-risk" cities and towns for community spread.

According to the latest state report released last Thursday, Peabody had 21.8 cases per 100,000 residents and a positive-test rate of 3.22 percent. There were 202 new cases detected in the city over the previous 14 days.

The state average was 19.5 cases per 100,000 residents as of Thursday with a positive test rate as of Monday at 2.0 percent — up slightly from its winter lows of two weeks ago.

On March 5, when Peabody was still considered a "high-risk" community, the city had a positive test rate of 4.29 percent with 30.1 cases per 100,000 residents.

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(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)