CVS is opening 36 new drive-thru COVID-19 test sites in New York as part of a nationwide response to the coronavirus pandemic.
New Yorkers can schedule an appointment beginning Friday to find their nearest testing site location in Nassau County, Suffolk County, Staten Island, or Inwood. Each site is expected to be able to perform 50 tests per day.
Patients will be required to stay in their cars and directed to the pharmacy drive-thru window, where they will be provided with a test kit and given instructions. A CVS Pharmacy team member will observe the self-swab process to ensure it is done properly.
None of the testing will take place within stores.
Tests will be sent to an independent, third-party lab for processing and the results will be available in approximately three days.
Last week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced a state partnership with CVS pharmacies to begin testing in locations statewide.
The governor additionally expanded the state’s guidelines on who should get tested to include New Yorkers who have been or would be cleared to return to work under the first phase of the state’s reopening plan.
“While the large-scale test sites we’ve been operating since early April have proven successful, this new approach allows us to utilize our presence in communities across the country and bring testing closer to home,” Larry J. Merlo, president and CEO of CVS Health, said in a statement.
CVS will be accepting insurance at the drive-thru test sites.
However, under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act approved by Congress, patients should not have any out-of-pocket costs with their insurance.
Uninsured patients will be covered under a program funded by the Department of Health and Human Services.
CVS is expected to announce 1,000 test sites in the country by the end of May.