COVID tests performed out windows in Chelsea Square

People lined up by the dozens in Chelsea Square, braving the wind-swept rain as they stood single file waiting to register for a COVID test outside Health Innovation’s motorhome turned makeshift clinic.

Frank Rodriguez, a health provider working for the Randolph company, walked up and down the line offering hand sanitizer from a gallon jug and answered questions from the crowd. Once registered, people would be sent to a small shed where nursing students from Northeastern University would perform the test through tiny windows to waiting patients.

Virginia Gomez of Chelsea brought her two young children, Gino and Miranda Manfredi to get tested. At first, the kids were apprehensive, but the kind words from nursing student, Kailiyah Martinez, reassured them that the test wouldn’t hurt. She explaining that they just had to be brave for about 15 seconds while the swab sat in their nostril.

Once the test was done, 6-year-old Gino assured his 9-year-old sister Miranda that it wasn’t all that bad.

The walk-up clinic is open weekly, Monday thru Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with English and Spanish speaking workers.

CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Kailiyah Martinez, working for Health Innovations and a student nurse at Northeastern University gets ready to test Gino Manfredi, 6 for COVID-19, as his sister Miranda Manfredi, 9 looks on in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Dozens of people line up to get tested for COVID-19 from Health Innovations in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Frank Rodriguez, a health provider for Health Innovations answers questions and offers hand sanitizer to people in a line to get tested for COVID-19 in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Kailiyah Martinez, working for Health Innovations and a student nurse at Northeastern University gets ready to test Gino Manfredi, 6 for COVID-19, as his sister Miranda Manfredi, 9 and mom Virginia Gomez look on in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Kailiyah Martinez, working for Health Innovations and student nurse at Northeastern University tests Virginia Gomez for COVID-19, as her son Gino Manfredi, 6 and daughter Miranda Manfredi, 9 look on in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Kailiyah Martinez, working for Health Innovations and a student nurse at Northeastern University tests Gino Manfredi, 6 for COVID-19, as his sister Miranda Manfredi, 9 looks on in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Health Innovations workers test people for COVID-19 out of a shed in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Kailiyah Martinez, working for Health Innovations and student nurse at Northeastern University talks to a young patient before testing for COVID-19 in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Health Innovations, Jake Castors student nurse at Northeastern University tests a patient for COVID-19 out of a shed in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Health Innovations, Jake Castors student nurse at Northeastern University tests a patient for COVID-19 out of a shed in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: A Health Innovations worker tests a patient for COVID-19 out of a shed in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Health Innovations, Jake Castors student nurse at Northeastern University tests a patient for COVID-19 out of a shed in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Health Innovations, Jake Castors student nurse at Northeastern University tests a patient for COVID-19 in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Kailiyah Martinez, working for Health Innovations and a student nurse at Northeastern University tests a patient for COVID-19 out of a shed in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: A Health Innovations worker tests a patient for COVID-19 out of a shed in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
CHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: A Health Innovations worker tests a patient for COVID-19 out of a shed in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
iCHELSEA, MA. - NOVEMBER 30: Dozens of people line up and wait in the rain to get a COVID-19 test from Health Innovations in Chelsea Square on November 30, 2020 in Chelsea, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/ MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)