Free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing now available in Atlanta with quick results

ATLANTA, GA (CNN) — Quick, drive-thru COVID-19 testing is now available to a broader audience in metro-Atlanta, thanks to a public-private partnership involving CVS Health.

The pharmacy chain has teamed up with federal and state health officials to offer the free testing that started simultaneously Monday in two cities – Atlanta and Providence, Rhode Island.

Each is capable of testing 1,000 people per day. Test results are available within 30 minutes of specimen collection.

The Atlanta testing is taking place by appointment only on the campus of Georgia Tech.

As soon as the drive-thru clinic opened, Alex Garcia was the first in line for a 9 a.m. slot.

“My family of four has been coughing for the past two weeks about,” Garcia said, adding that he hopes they don’t have COVID-19. “All of that is weighing on our minds obviously and everything else that’s going on, so wanted to get here as soon as I could.”

Here’s how the testing works.

You fill out a quick online questionnaire, CVS.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing, and if approved, you select an available time slot for testing. Once you arrive on the campus of Georgia Tech, you keep your windows up and remain in your car at all times. You then follow the signs into a secure parking garage where a nurse hands you a nasal swab which you’re asked to insert deeply into each nostril.

“The testing we’re using just got FDA approval about 10 days ago,” said Emmanuel Kolady, Senior Vice President for CVS Health.

“The Minute Clinic nurse practitioners and nurses are orchestrating the actual testing where we get the results,” Kolady said. “A positive result will only take about five minutes. A negative might take up to 13 minutes.”

Earlier COVID-19 testing in March took 5 to 7 days.

Garcia was pleased to get a negative test result.

Those with positive tests results are given extensive instructions, including a requirement to self-isolate.