(Reuters) - CVS Health Corp (CVS.N), called on by the Trump administration last month to help test Americans for infections from the new coronavirus, said it was launching two offsite testing locations with Abbott Laboratories’ (ABT.N) faster diagnostic kit and would be able to handle 1,000 tests per day.
Testing for COVID-19, the serious respiratory illness cased by the new coronavirus, has been held back by a lack of test kits and other equipment. While more than 300,000 people in America have tested positive for the new coronavirus, officials believe a shortage of kits has undercounted cases.
Testing, including at drive-through sites like these, is also seen as a key component for U.S. workers and restarting the economy as most states have ordered many non-essential businesses to close.
Executives from Walmart Inc(WMT.N), Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA.N and Target Corp (TGT.N) also said in March as part of the government announcement that they would start this testing.
In recent weeks, CVS and Walgreens had said that they each had a pilot site running.