NEW: RI Partners With CVS for Drive-Through COVID-19 Testing at Twin River

NEW: RI Partners With CVS for Drive-Through COVID-19 Testing at Twin River

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo announced Monday that the state has partnered with CVS Health to make free, rapid COVID-19 tests available at a new drive-through testing site at Twin River casino in Lincoln

The tests using the new Abbott ID NOW™ system will be provided by appointment. According to the state, this new testing site will be able to perform approximately 1,000 tests per day. The proposed number is currently more than what the state is doing. 

As GoLocal has reported, Rhode Island has lagged behind its New England peers in testing, averaging just 180 tests a day since starting in March, and getting up to just 822 tests on Sunday. 

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“Today marks a giant leap forward in our efforts to combat this virus,” said Raimondo. “Thanks to the partnership and generosity of CVS Health, we will be able to double our testing capacity and provide on-the-spot results to thousands of Rhode Islanders each day. Making testing rapid and readily available is the key to slowly reopening our economy, and today we are one step closer to that goal.”

RI's Latest Partnership

Rhode Island and Georgia are the only two states in the country to be launching this new partnership today. They will be utilizing licensed health care providers from MinuteClinic, CVS’s retail medical clinic, to oversee the testing at no cost to patients.

According to the state, the Abbott ID NOW™ COVID-19 test is the "fastest available molecular point-of-care test." The test can deliver positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results in as little as 13 minutes.

“CVS Health is uniquely positioned to play a vital role in helping support both local communities and the overall health care system in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., M.P.H, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health. “Our ability to help coordinate the availability of rapid COVID-19 testing for Rhode Island citizens will bolster the state’s efforts to manage the spread of the virus and provide people with on-the-spot test results.”

Anyone looking to receive a test at this site can sign up here: https://www.cvs.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing.