Walgreens plans to expand its drive-thru coronavirus testing locations to 15 new sites in seven states, the Deerfield, Illinois, chain announced Tuesday.
The sites will utilize the new Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test "to provide rapid results to patients visiting Walgreens sites." Walgreens said the coronavirus test delivers positive results "in as little as five minutes" and negative results within 13 minutes.
While the exact locations are still being finalized with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Walgreens noted the new sites will be in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas in "hot spot markets with escalating rates of COVID-19 cases."
The new locations are expected to be activated beginning later this week, according to Walgreens, with the ability to be able to test up to 3,000 people per day across the sites.
“Walgreens remains committed to working with federal, state and local governments, as well as industry partners to meet the needs of the communities we serve across the country during the pandemic,” said Richard Ashworth, Walgreens president, in a statement.
"Opening our first drive-thru testing location last month has allowed us to quickly learn and develop an efficient and scalable process," Ashworth said, "and we’re pleased to be working with Abbott to help accelerate our efforts, and to enable quick results for those being tested.”
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Patients will soon be directed to testing locations via an online assessment tool on Walgreens.com and the Walgreens app, the company said.
"Testing will be available at no cost to eligible individuals who meet criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)," Walgreens said in a statement. "Patients will need to pre-register in advance in order to schedule an appointment for testing."
