Walmart, Quest Diagnostics Pilot Drone Delivery Of COVID-19 Test Kits

(RTTNews) - Walmart Inc., Quest Diagnostics Inc. and drone services provider DroneUp announced a pilot program for delivery of at-home COVID-19 self-collection kits by drones in the North Las Vegas-area.

Walmart said in a blog post that it has partnered with Quest Diagnostics and DroneUp to launch trial deliveries of collection kits to customers in North Las Vegas, and Cheektowaga, New York, in early October.

The retail giant noted that the trials are an innovative new way to provide additional and contactless testing options.

Walmart has announced two other drone trials in recent weeks. One of the trials is to deliver select grocery and household essentials, while the other trial is to test delivery of certain health and wellness products.

According to Walmart, patients who qualify for drone delivery of the COVID-19 self-collection kits must live in a single-family residence within a one-mile radius of the designated Supercenters in North Las Vegas and Cheektowaga.

Patients must also meet CDC and state as well as local guidelines for testing and must be 18 years of age or older.

Patients must request a drone delivery appointment through www.GetDroneTest.com. The test kit includes a device for nasal swab collection, which is the same kit made available by Quest recently through its QuestDirect Active Infection Test.

Customers who opt to receive the at-home kit delivered by drones do not have to pay delivery or kit costs. The kits will land on the driveway, front sidewalk, or backyard of the customer's home, depending on where there are cars and trees.

After the kits are delivered, the person must perform a self-administered nasal swab at his home and send his sample back to a Quest Diagnostics lab for testing using the included prepaid shipping label.

Patients will receive their COVID-19 test results through the Quest Diagnostics 'MyQuest' online portal or app.

"We hope drone delivery of self-collection kits will shape contactless testing capabilities on a larger scale and continue to bolster the innovative ways Walmart plans to use drone delivery in the future," said Tom Ward, Walmart's Senior Vice President of Customer Product.

The drone delivery pilot will be available while supplies last every day from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., weather and visibility permitting, the companies said.