Plymouth, Massachusetts, officials alerted the public on Sunday that more than 60 birds found dead at Billington Sea are suspected to have died of highly pathogenic avian influenza, or bird flu.

On Sunday morning, members of the Clean Harbor waste management who were contracted by the state Department of Environmental Protection, as well as state officials, responded to Billington Sea to remove numerous geese, swans and other dead wildlife from the pond.

The day before, the state ornithologist told town officials that a dead goose removed from Plymouth was “highly suspected” of having avian influenza, or bird flu.

Since there is only one lab in the U.S. that can officially confirm a positive bird flu case, it could take up to a week for a definitive answer, officials said.

In fact, safety precautions continue to ramp up as cases of bird flu continue to surface across the U.S.

On Thursday, the CDC announced its recommendation to test hospitalized influenza A patients more quickly and thoroughly to distinguish between seasonal flu and bird flu.

The accelerated “subtyping” of flu A in hospitalized patients is in response to “sporadic human infections” of avian flu, the CDC wrote in a press release.

The goal is to prevent delays in identifying bird flu infections and promote better patient care, “timely infection control” and case investigation, the agency stated.

These delays are more likely to happen during the flu season due to high patient volumes, according to the CDC.

Fox News Digital’s Angelica Stabile contributed to this report.