CVS has seen its pharmacies become one of the most essential businesses in the country due to the coronavirus pandemic. On top of supplying people with their necessary drugs and other items, and announcing an expansion of its workforce, the retail chain is going even farther and is beginning to offer free testing for the coronavirus.

The first locations are opening in Lincoln, Rhode Island and Atlanta, Georgia. Residents will pre-register online to schedule a time slot. To be eligible, they must meet the criteria set for by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), including following age guidelines and providing proof of state residency. The testing sites are drive-thru set ups that will be hosted in large parking lots, able to accommodate multiple lanes of cars. Using the latest model of testing kits, participants will be able to receive positive or negative results in thirty minutes or less.

The testing locations will operate seven days a week and be able to service up to a thousand people a day, free of charge.

"Today marks a giant leap forward in our efforts to combat this virus," said Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo. A thousand people a day is currently twice the amount of people the state is currently able to rest. "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."

“Increased access to rapid testing remains one of our top priorities in order to identify more cases, get Georgians the care they need, and prevent further infection in our communities,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “This unique, public-private partnership will strengthen our testing capability as we continue to take the fight to COVID-19 in Georgia, and we are grateful for CVS Health’s support to stop the spread of the virus.”

"Our providers will be able to test large numbers of people in these states and make real-time decisions about treatment and appropriate next steps," said Troyen Brennan, who is the chief medical officer and executive vice president of CVS Health.

This kind of drive-thru testing has already been implemented in countries such as South Korea but has been slow to develop in the United States. This is primarily due to the severe shortage of testing kits, a problem that has bogged down the American response to the pandemic since the beginning. Only recently did tests begin being produced in quantities large enough to start making a difference. Testing rates in the U.S. remain far behind almost every other industrialized nation.

The national death toll is expected to pass 10,000 people in the United States today. The states where CVS is beginning its testing sites are at best moderate hotspots. Georgia currently has 6,742 positive cases and 219 deaths. Rhode Island, on the other hand, has 922 cases and 25 deaths.

Hunter DeRensis is a senior reporter for the National Interest. Follow him on Twitter @HunterDeRensis.