CVS Health announced on Monday that it is opening drive-through coronavirus testing sites in Georgia and Rhode Island.
CVS Health announced in Monday’s press release that it is teaming up with state and federal officials to open rapid coronavirus drive-through testing sites in both Georgia and Rhode Island — one in each state. The sites will “bolster state efforts to manage the spread of the virus and provide on-the-spot test results.” Medical professionals working for MinuteClinic, CVS Health’s medical clinic, will oversee the testing, according to the press release:
The company is applying the significant learnings gathered from its COVID-19 testing site opened in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts on March 19, to help maximize the efficiency and safety at these new sites. For example, testing at these new sites will be held in large parking lots that are easily accessible and able to accommodate multiple lanes of cars at one time and will require eligible individuals to pre-register online. COVID-19 testing will not take place at CVS Pharmacy or MinuteClinic locations.
Professionals will be using the Abbott Laboratories ID NOW COVID-19 test, which “recently received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the fastest available molecular point-of-care test for the detection of COVID-19.” It can reportedly provide positive test results as quickly as five minutes.
“Our MinuteClinic providers join countless other heroic health care professionals across the country and around the world in forming the first line of defense against this devastating virus,” Troyen Brennan, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of CVS Health said in a statement.
“Thanks to our partnerships with state officials and the utilization of advanced technology, our providers will be able to test large numbers of people in these states and make real-time decisions about treatment and appropriate next steps,” Brennan added.
Gov. Brian P. Kemp (R) welcomed the news, stressing that rapid testing remains one of his state’s top priorities.
“This unique, public-private partnership will strengthen our testing capability as we continue to take the fight to COVID-19 in Georgia, and we are grateful for CVS Health’s support to stop the spread of the virus,” Kemp said.
Rhode Island Gov. Gina M. Raimondo (D) said, thanks to the partnership, her state will “be able to double … testing capacity and provide on-the-spot results to thousands of Rhode Islanders each day.”
“Making testing rapid and readily available is the key to slowly reopening our economy, and today we are one step closer to that goal,” she said.
The test sites will be located in Atlanta, Georgia, and Lincoln, Rhode Island.
Georgia had 6,742 coronavirus cases and a death toll of 219 as of Monday morning. Rhode Island had 922 confirmed cases with 25 related deaths.
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