BATON ROUGE - A new COVID-19 testing facility is set to open in Baton Rouge, Monday. 

On Friday, EBR Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and Senator Regina Barrow announced that the new drive-thru testing site will be near Cortana Mall in the Walmart Parking Lot (in the parking lot, and not inside of Walmart) at 9350 Cortana Place in Baton Rouge. 

The site, which is supported by a collaboration between Walmart, Quest Diagnostics and government officials, will test those who are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 and all health care providers and first responders.

Though patients who visit the facility for testing won't need a doctor’s order, they will need to make an appointment.

The testing is free of charge.

The site will be open every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., weather permitting. 

Anyone exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 is welcome to make an appointment for testing as are all first responders and health care providers. 

To make an appointment, patients must use Quest’s MyQuestTM online portal and app: www.MyQuestCOVIDTest.com, which will screen and schedule appointments for those individuals that meet medical eligibility for the testing sites.

Once on site, those being tested will need to wear a mask and stay in their cars for verification of eligibility criteria, ID check and self-administered test. For the safety of all those on-site, the test site is not available to those who walk up. 

The site will use a self-administered nasal swab test that will allow those being tested to swab their own nose onsite while in their vehicles, observed by a trained medical volunteer to ensure the sample is taken correctly, and drop the sealed sample into a container on their way out of the drive-thru site.

Anyone with questions about the new Cortana-area drive-thru testing site should call Quest’s dedicated COVID-19 line at 866-448-7719, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET