Posted Apr 7, 2020, 3:26 pm
Arizona will be one of seven states where Walgreens will open 15 drive-thru COVID-19 testing centers later this week.
In a press release Tuesday, Walgreens announced its drive-thru testing centers will open in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas.
The company said the testing sites will use Abbott Laboratories's ID NOW COVID-19 test, which "delivers positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results within 13 minutes."
Walgreens hopes to test up to 3,000 people per day across the 15 sites, with testing provided at no cost for eligible individuals who meet guidelines established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Walgreens President Richard Ashworth said it was the success of the company's first drive-thru testing center in Chicago that helped in learning how to scale such a process.
"Opening our first drive-thru testing location last month has allowed us to quickly learn and develop an efficient and scalable process, and we're pleased to be working with Abbott to help accelerate our efforts, and to enable quick results for those being tested," Ashworth said in the press release.
The locations of the testing centers were not disclosed as Walgreens said it is still finalizing them in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, but they will be planned for "hot spot markets."
Once the locations are established, patients will need to make appointments in advance and will use an online assessment tool that will direct them to their nearest testing location.
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Walgreens's expansion is part of a federal effort that began last month in which CEOs of Walmart, Rite Aid, Target, CVS Health and Walgreens assured President Donald Trump that they will help in administering COVID-19 tests.
CVS Health announced Monday that it is expanding its drive-thru testing centers to Georgia and Rhode Island after the success of its initial testing center in Massachusetts.
Arizona has 2,575 COVID-19 cases resulting in 73 deaths as of April 7, according to data by the Arizona Department of Health Services.
Nationwide, the United States has 386,800 COVID-19 cases and 12,021 deaths as of April 7, according to data by Johns Hopkins University.
Earlier Tuesday, legislative leaders said they were indefinitely suspending the annual legislative session because of the pandemic and the social distancing measures required to slow the spread of the illness.
This report was first published by the Arizona Mirror.
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