Delta Air Lines Teams With CVS for Rapid COVID-19 Employee Testing

Delta Air Lines announced a new partnership with CVS Health to accelerate coronavirus testing for employees.

Delta and CVS Health will provide the carrier with a rapid-response option for flight crews, which will be overseen by a clinician stationed in crew lounges and take fewer than 15 minutes to get a positive or negative result.

The CVS Health Return Ready nasal-swab testing is the newest testing option Delta is providing employees so a baseline understanding of the infection can be established across the company.

“Just like there’s no single method to reducing the transmission of the virus, there’s no one solution to testing our global workforce that is always on the move,” Delta Executive Vice President Joanne Smith said. “That’s why we’re excited to be partnering with CVS Health and their clinicians to offer an additional convenient and reliable option to our people.”

The partnership with CVS Health is just another layer of the health and safety guidelines implemented by the airline since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak. Delta currently tests employees regularly, takes temperatures, mandates masks, enforces social distancing and more.

“It’s not feasible right now for everyone to take a test every time they walk out the door,” Smith said. “That’s why our baseline testing is so important, and we’re grateful to have partners who share our values and our vision to make testing easy and accessible to all Delta employees.”

“We intend to use what we learn from this round of testing to make sure our re-testing program is one that continues to instill confidence among our people and with consumers about traveling with Delta,” Smith continued.

Last month, Delta also announced a collaboration with RB, the makers of Lysol, through which it aims to develop breakthrough disinfection solutions and even further elevate standards for hygiene in air travel.