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This article was last updated Sept. 17 at 5:54 p.m. ET.

CVS Doubles Testing Sites Across Country

Sept. 17, 5:54 p.m.

CVS Health is doubling the number of drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites at its pharmacies, the company announced Thursday.

More than 2,000 new testing sites will be opened by mid-October, totaling more than 4,000 sites across the country. The first 400 of the new sites are scheduled to open on Friday.

“We recognize the critical role testing plays in helping to manage the spread of the virus,” Jon Roberts, the chief operating officer of CVS Health and acting president of CVS Pharmacy, said in the statement.

“Since opening our first test site in March, we’ve been able to quickly adapt to the changing landscape in order to make it easier for people in the communities we serve to access testing,” he said.

The self-swab tests are free and available to those who meet CDC criteria for testing, the company said. People have to register for an appointment online before arriving at the location for a test. Results are available within two to three days, according to the announcement.

CVS Health provided a list of current locations, which included 2,061test sites as of Thursday evening.

The company has given 3 million COVID-19 tests since March, the company reported.

Testing continues to remain important as coronavirus cases and deaths surge in certain parts of country. On Tuesday, nearly 1,300 people died from COVID-19, marking the highest one-day total for deaths since mid-August, according to Forbes.

On Tuesday, 1,293 deaths were reported, following just behind the 1,295 deaths reported on Aug. 19. In addition, 39,617 new COVID-19 cases were reported.

The U.S. is averaging about 38,000 new cases per day for the past seven days, the news outlet reported, which is a 5% increase from the week before.