CVS to double number of pharmacy coronavirus testing sites

*A woman submits to a COVID-19 test. Photo by Steve Klamkin WPRO News*

WOONSOCKET, R.I. (AP) — CVS Health is doubling the number of drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites at its pharmacy locations around the country, the company said in a statement Thursday.

The Woonsocket, Rhode Island, company plans to add more than 2,000 testing sites for a total of more than 4,000 by mid-October.

The first 400 of the new testing sites are scheduled to open Friday. The existing sites have already performed about 3 million tests.

“Since opening our first test site in March, we’ve been able to quickly adapt to the changing landscape in order to make it easier for people in the communities we serve to access testing,” Jon Roberts, acting president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.

The self-swab tests, available only by appointment, are conducted under the supervision of a qualified CVS employee. Most test results collected at CVS are available within two or three days.

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NEW DATA

The Rhode Island Department of Health on Thursday reported 101 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state and four more virus-related fatalities.

The new cases were out of more than 8,200 test results, a positivity rate of about 1.2%.

The state’s seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate over the past two weeks has not changed, and was at 1.22% on Wednesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Rhode Island has risen over the past two weeks from more than 89 on Sept. 2 to more than 97 on Wednesday, Johns Hopkins reported.

The state has now had nearly 23,500 confirmed cases and 1,085 fatalities.

There were 88 patients with coronavirus in Rhode Island hospitals on Tuesday, up from 86 the day before. Nine were in intensive care.

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THEATER PRODUCTION DELAY

A Rhode Island theater company announced Thursday that it would not produce any in-person, indoor performances until the fall of 2021.

Trinity Rep at first said it would delay the start of its season until August. But that was pushed back until the winter of 2020 through the fall of 2021. Now the season has been delayed until fall 2021.

“While we are eager to get back onstage in front of our beloved audience, it is becoming increasingly clear that we won’t be able to do so in a safe or practical fashion this winter and spring,” Artistic Director Curt Columbus said in a statement.

In the meantime, Trinity Rep will continue its anti-racism, education and digital content initiatives.