On Sept. 17, 2020, Quest Diagnostics announced that individuals can purchase a test to diagnose COVID-19 online, without visiting a doctor’s office, through QuestDirect, the consumer-initiated testing business of Quest Diagnostics. The QuestDirect COVID-19 Active Infection test can be purchased online with specimen collection available in two ways: at-home or at one of more than 500 Walmart Neighborhood Market drive-thru pharmacy locations across the U.S.

The new test uses the gold standard of COVID-19 diagnostic testing – highly sensitive molecular diagnostic technologies that have received emergency use authorization from the FDA to aid the detection of the RNA of SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The test is appropriate for individuals who seek access to COVID-19 diagnostic testing, due to COVID-19-like symptoms or exposure to someone with COVID-19.

The kit includes a device for anterior nares (nasal) swab collection, a comparatively noninvasive specimen collection technique that involves inserting a swab into one nostril in the front of the nose.