Walmart has provided an update on its coronavirus test sites. The retailer has previously announced plans to open a number of easy-access sites for people to determine if they’re infected with COVID-19. A spokesperson for Walmart spoke to Business Insider on Monday, where they outlined a more concrete plan for the sites’ availability.
“We currently have three sites open, and we have plans to expand testing to multiple sites next week with the goal of having more than 20 sites in more than 10 states by the end of the month,” the spokesperson said. “We have been learning a lot from our initial sites so that we can get the model right and are working hard to help expand testing in areas of need as quickly as possible. We remain committed to supporting government efforts to expand COVID-19 drive-thru testing during this critical time, and we are working closely with Quest Diagnostics, HHS, and several states to open sites in areas of need.”
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As of Tuesday, Walmart has opened a fourth testing site. The big-box chain also stressed that each of these locations will be run by store pharmacists and lab partner employees with some community volunteers helping out. The statement also echoes what CEO Doug McMillon told TODAY on Friday.
“Walmart, along with some other retailers, have been working with the testing labs, state governments and the federal government to try and stand these up.” He added that they want to have “20 sites open over 10 states in the next couple of weeks.”
That same interview, McMillon also addressed the mass shortage of toilet paper, much of which was the result of consumer panic-buying. While the product has been slightly easier to find on shelves, he advised customers to ration their supply instead of overstocking.
“Paper goods continue to sell out quickly,” MicMillon explained. “In the last five days, we’ve sold enough toilet paper for every American to have their own roll just in five days. So there’s plenty of flow coming but if everyone could just kind of manage and buy week-to-week rather than stocking up at this point it’d be helpful for everybody.”
In the U.S., social distancing guidelines have been put into place until the end of April in an attempt to slow the spread of coronavirus, though it’s possible that could change in the coming weeks. As of Tuesday, Johns Hopkins reports there have been 589,048 cases of COVID-19 in the U.S.
