CVS Health Has Opened the First Drive-Up Testing Location for Coronavirus

Living in light of the coronavirus pandemic is certainly a scary time. There’s so much unknown and uncertainty with everything from the economy to if the kids will see their teachers before the school year is up.

But one of the biggest concerns is the shortage of testing. However, there’s some good news: CVS Health has just opened its first drive-up testing location for COVID-19 (coronavirus). Tests were being offered in a pharmacy parking lot in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts.

As of now, the testing is restricted to public health officials including firefighters, police and healthcare workers.

CVS had pledged at a White House press conference on March 13 to open drive-up testing locations in order to help diagnose people with coronavirus. Additionally, Walmart, Target and Walgreens also pledged the same, but have not yet announced the timing or locations of tests.

“This is our first experience endeavoring this type of testing outside of one of our store locations,” said CVS spokesman Joe Goode. “There were a lot of operational challenges. We wanted to make sure that we staged this testing site properly. We worked with local officials. There are a lot of things to consider operationally to make sure that the site was truly ready for patients.”

Like other test sites, those who are sick will drive up to different stations while remaining in their car. The first one will check to see if they have a fever, and if they do, they’ll go to a registration station. There, they will receive a number attached to their test kit.

From there, they will had to the swabbing station, where a nurse swabs their nose. About 48 hours later, they’ll get their results.

The CVS location in Shrewsbury is currently closed in order to make the testing site even safer. “We are going to learn from this site before we take this to other locations,” Goode said.