Rite Aid Expands COVID-19 Self-Swab, Drive-Thru Testing With 11 New Locations

A health worker (R) holds a test tube containing a swab sample for CCP virus testing collected from a man at the Colombo Municipal Council office during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 disease, in Colombo on April 19, 2020. (Ishara S. Kodikara/AFP via Getty Images)

Rite Aid is expanding its drive-thru testing locations for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, with 11 new locations opening on April 22.

The pharmacy chain announced its new testing sites would be opening Wednesday in Delaware, Idaho, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Rite Aid first began piloting its drive-thru testing locations for the CCP virus on March 22, and the latest openings bring its self-testing sites to 24 locations across eight states.

The new site locations opening Wednesday include:

• Dover, DE: 200 Pharmacy Drive in Smyrna
• Boise, ID: 3250 S. Eagle Road in Meridian
• Grand Rapids, MI: 5995 Kalamazoo Avenue, SE in Kentwood
• Saginaw, MI: 4598 State Street in Saginaw
• Central, NJ: 31 Mule Road in Toms River
• Albany, NY: 1863 Central Avenue in Colonie
• Akron, OH: 4053 South Main Street in Akron
• Youngstown, OH: 713 North State Street in Girard
• Erie, PA: 5430 Peach Street in Erie
• Scranton, PA: 20 South River Street in Plains
• Virginia Beach, VA: 2293 Upton Drive in Virginia Beach

All test locations will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week and Rite Aid pharmacists will oversee the use of self-swab nasal tests. Each site will carry out some 200 tests daily, according to Rite Aid.

Those who wish to qualify for testing at the sites must meet guidelines established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Rite Aid said a doctor’s note is not required, reported USA Today, however, individuals must be at least 18 years of age, possess a government-issued ID, and sign up on its website in advance.

Those who wish to be tested for the CCP virus will take part in an online screening process. If individuals meet the criteria, they will be notified by the drugstore chain where to go to get tested, subject to availability. Those who qualify will be able to be tested at no cost.

To ensure social distancing measures are maintained, the tests will be administered in Rite Aid parking lots, and individuals will be asked to remain in their vehicles throughout the process.

“We’re really trying to make sure patients are educated about what’s going to happen when they arrive, and then once they’re on-site, we’re here to help,” company spokesperson, Christopher Savarese, told CNN.

Testing for COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP virus, will be conducted by BioReference Laboratories. PWNHealth, a national clinician network that enables safe and easy access to diagnostic testing, will provide clinical oversight for the testing program.

The pharmacy chain has partnered with Verily’s Project Baseline to facilitate COVID-19 virus test screening, scheduling, and returning participant’s test results.

More than 787,000 people have been reported to be infected by the CCP virus in the United States. At least 42,364 have died, according to a tracking map by Johns Hopkins University. However, the figures are believed by some experts to be unreliable owing to inaccurate data from China.