Rite Aid and CVS Health are have both rolled out additional coronavirus testing sites: Rite Aid’s are in Waldwick, N.J. and Valley Cottage, N.Y., while CVS has opened a location in New Haven, Conn.
The new Rite Aid testing sites will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week, with appointments available through online reservations. The retailer expects to conduct 200 tests per day at each location through self-swab nasal tests, overseen by Rite Aid pharmacists.
Both sites are at existing store parking lots, but tests will be administered to people inside their cars, where they must remain from the time they arrive until their departure. The service will be available at no cost to anyone who meets the criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The new sites join existing self-testing locations in Pennsylvania. Rite Aid expects to expand the program to additional stores in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan and Virginia in the near future.
Advertisement
The CVS testing center will be located in the parking lot of a former college campus and will provide patients with on-site results to help them properly quarantine or seek treatment as needed. The process is overseen by licensed healthcare providers from CVS MinuteClinics, but no testing will take place at CVS pharmacies.
Like the Rite Aid testing site, CVS will require patients to schedule an appointment online and remain inside their cars for the duration of the testing process. Testing is free for anyone who meets CDC guidelines.
All three of the country’s major pharmacy retailers have been expanding their testing capabilities in recent weeks. CVS opened rapid testing sites in Georgia, Massachusetts and Rhode Island last week, while Walgreens announced plans to establish 15 locations in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas.
