Retailers agreed to coronavirus testing in their parking lots. Then they hit hurdles
A group of large retailers earlier this month readily agreed to provide space in the parking lots outside their stores for drive-through coronavirus testing, but they immediately ran into hurdles that have prevented widespread adoption of the original plan.
Walmart, which owns and operates pharmacies, has opened pilot sites with assistance from the Health and Human Services Department to test first responders and medical professionals. They intend to broaden the testing sites later to include the general public.
Target, which does not have pharmacists or medical professionals on staff, is not in a position to easily do the same. It would need outside medical personnel to perform the testing in its parking lots.
CVS does have the resources to perform tests but realized after opening its Shrewsbury, Mass., site that parking lots at many of its independent stores will not be large enough to efficiently test long lines of people.
Challenges faced by retailers have contributed to an “evolution” in the execution of the community based testing sites that private businesses are operating in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services, and in coordination with state and local governments, a spokeswoman for HHS told McClatchy.
Authorities have since expanded the initial concept to include stadiums like Marlins Park and Hard Rock Stadium, two Miami locations where multi-lane testing sites have opened, and other spaces that can support a high volume of traffic.
HHS spokeswoman Mia Heck said that 29 drive-through testing centers had opened in conjunction with the initiative as of Friday and that an anticipated 40 sites will be operational by April 1.
New drive-through testing sites will be opening in California, Washington state, New York state and Colorado this week, she said. Those states were selected based on a determination that they were “critical hotspots.” Heck said she could not reveal the location of the new venues just yet.
After a meeting with President Donald Trump in mid-March, executives from Walmart, Target, CVS and Walgreens flanked him in the White House Rose Garden while he announced the new public-private partnership that would lead to the opening of drive-through coronavirus testing sites.
Four national retailers have collectively opened five testing sites since the March 13 news conference where Trump announced the initiative. Walmart is hosting two testing sites on its properties in the Chicago suburbs and Walgreens has one in the same area. CVS has one drive-through testing center near Worcester, Mass., and drug store company Rite Aid is now operating one testing site in Philadelphia.
Those sites are only for health professionals and first responders exhibiting symptoms and were selected by retailers working in collaboration with government authorities to identify stores that are best suited to handle testing in critical areas, HHS said.
Trump at the news conference with executives previewed a scenario where anyone experiencing coronavirus symptoms would be able to get tested from their vehicle.
“We’ve been in discussions with pharmacies and retailers to make drive-through tests available in the critical locations identified by public health professionals. The goal is for individuals to be able to drive up and be swabbed without having to leave your car,” he said.
The agreement at the time, as described at the event by Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, was for retailers to offer space in select parking lots to the effort. Since then, HHS said the involvement of companies that are able to perform testing on site had become more robust.
Retailers told McClatchy that they remain committed to opening additional drive-through testing locations, while acknowledging that they had encountered certain difficulties at the pilot sites.
Walmart, for example, has struggled with a shortage of personal protective equipment, or PPE, for the professionals administering tests at sites in Northlake and Joliet, Ill., and found like many state and local governments that testing kits were in short supply.
Heck said that HHS has provided “an enormous amount of supplies and resources” to stand the locations up and denied that a shortage of PPE had led to a lag in the opening of additional testing sites. She said there are criteria that must be met in order to participate in the program, and it has taken some time for companies to meet government standards.
A White House official told McClatchy in an email that “regular contact with major retailers like CVS, Walmart, Walgreens and Rite Aid” has been taking place “to make sure they have the federal support they need for these local testing sites.”
“The administration is currently in discussions with these private companies and others to expand the number of testing sites in a way that reduces PPE requirements and improves the patient experience,” the official stated.
“The White House will continue to work with these major retailers to support future testing sites and applaud them for the work done thus far,” the official added.
Walmart spokeswoman Marilee McInnis, in a statement to McClatchy, said the company is assessing operations and is seeking to increase the number of stores that have testing facilities.
‘We are in active conversations at the state level to see how we can best support their efforts to expand drive-thru testing. We don’t know where the next sites will be, but we are speaking with multiple states to see how we can play a role in supporting our communities at this unprecedented time,” she said.
Walgreens has also said it is working with federal agencies to identify “other potential select” locations where it can assist with coronavirus testing efforts. A spokesman for the company did not provide additional details in response to a request for comment.
T.J. Crawford, vice president for external affairs at CVS Health, said that the company’s nurses, nurse practitioners and pharmacists are testing more than 200 local first responders and health care workers per day at its Shrewsbury store.
“We’ve been in contact with state and local officials elsewhere about the potential to open additional testing sites, but have no plans to share at this time,” Crawford told McClatchy in an email.
While not a part of the initial effort, Rite Aid has since joined the White House working group and has one testing site open in Pennsylvania. Spokesman Christopher Savarese told McClatchy the company went to HHS and offered to help. Tests at the Rite Aid site are conducted by the company’s nurse practitioners or pharmacists, he said.
Target has not yet opened a testing site in one of its parking lots, primarily because it does not own the pharmacies in its stores and does not employ medical personnel who could administer tests. Drug stores on Target properties are operated by CVS.
Jessica Carlson, a spokeswoman for Target, said in a statement that the company has continued to work with the White House coronavirus task force and its partners “to identify parking lot locations that could serve as temporary testing sites.”
“We stand committed to offering our parking lot locations and supporting their efforts when they are ready to activate,” she said.
