Brookline To Test Hundreds For Virus Antibodies

Update: The start of the testing program has been pushed to Tuesday, May 12.

The town of Brookline is conducting a coronavirus antibody study to better understand the spread of the disease.

Brookline will test about 200 of the town’s first responders and essential workers on May 11 and 400 randomly selected residents on May 15, the town said in a statement on its website Wednesday.

The testing is being done with the help of Massachusetts General Hospital and Fallon Ambulance, the statement said.

Testing is only meant for those who are asymptomatic and have never displayed symptoms of COVID-19.

The testing is a “critical step in building our understanding of the true size and scale of the COVID-19 pandemic,” town public health director Swannie Jett said in a statement.