WORCESTER - Mayor Joe Petty is looking ahead to increase COVID-19 testing for Worcester residents. 

Petty is asking City Manager Ed Augustus to work with local healthcare providers to develop a plan in the next several months to make it possible to test all city residents.

Petty is expecting more companies will be developing quick testing methods soon. 

"I know everybody is talking about how to bring the economy back, how to get people working again. I think people want to be comfortable enough that they know they're not spreading it and, two, if they have it, they'd like to know," Petty told Spectrum News 1 in an interview on Saturday.

Petty says the city is doing well handling the pandemic, but people will likely have to continue social distancing over the next few months.