Coronavirus: URI Drive-Thru Test Site To Close

KINGSTON, RI — The drive-through coronavirus site will stop offering services after Wednesday, according to the Rhode Island Department of Health. The decision was made to close the site due to low testing demands there, a spokesperson for the department said.

Wednesday is the last day that testing will be offered at the site. The resources earmarked for the site will be sent to other sites with higher testing traffic, said Joseph Wendelken, a spokesperson for the department. Despite the low number of tests, a "large amount" of personal protective equipment is still needed to protect the National Guard members administering the swabs, he added.

South County residents will still have access to tests nearby, Wendelken said, such as at the tent at Kent Hospital, just 25 minutes away from the university. Drive-through sites are still operational at the Community College of Rhode Island in Warwick and Rhode Island College in Providence.

"We are remaining in close contact with healthcare providers in South County so we can quickly adjust if the need for more testing arises," Wendelken said.

The closure of the test site is not expected to lower the state's total number of tests per day because the swabs, PPE and other resources will be used at other sites, instead.

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