Drive-thru COVID-19 testing centres open in Edmonton and Calgary

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A drive-thru COVID-19 test centre in Calgary. (Credit: Alberta Health Services)

EDMONTON -- The government has opened drive-thru COVID-19 testing centres in Edmonton and Calgary, with plans to open additional centres.

The centres are only for people who have been referred by Health Link, and as such, they are not giving out the addresses.

After arriving at the centres, patients are swabbed by a public health nurse at their car window, and then they drive home to self-isolate until the results come back.

The Edmonton site opened on Sunday morning. The Calgary site opened on March 10, and has already seen 604 patients.

Staff members at the sites are fully trained in infection prevention and control protocols.

A spokesperson for Alberta Health Services said the model has worked well in other jurisdictions.