Rhode Island Casino to become coronavirus testing site

Each day there is another addition to COVID-19 cases around the world. And now as the positive reports and death toll rises, majority of the countries around the globe are in a lockdown mode and for poker industry that means the casino doors are shut. Attracting numerous visitors throughout the year, casinos have been closed, except for Rhode Island Casino establishment being used as the site of free, rapid testing for coronavirus in the meantime.

Governor Gina Raimondo said on Monday that Twin River Casino would be used as the site of free, rapid drive-thru COVID-19 testing. In a news release, the state said the Abbott ID NOW test is available and this can deliver results in as little as five minutes and negative results within 13 minutes. “The average person will get their results in about 15 minutes after they’ve had their test,” said Dr. Troyen Brennan, executive vice president and chief medical officer of CVS Health.

CVS is running the site and implementing the tests, which will be open seven days a week. Rhode Islanders will not need a doctor referral but will need to make an appointment online and answer a few questions to see if they are eligible for the test. According to the Governor, the site will double the state’s testing capacity with approximately 1,000 tests per day being administered in the casino parking lot. This testing site will be available throughout the week at different time slots.

“Today marks a giant leap forward in our efforts to combat this virus,” Raimondo said in the release. “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. Making testing rapid and readily available is the key to slowly reopening our economy, and today we are one step closer to that goal.”

The state said that it will use licensed heath care providers from CVS’s MinuteClinic to oversee the testing at no cost at all. The CVS Health is also operating a similar rapid test site in Georgia.

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