Global airline expands unprecedented testing program with new rapid-response option to help slow spread of virus, increase employee and customer confidence.
Delta Air Lines is partnering with CVS Health to accelerate employee COVID-19 testing with a rapid-response option for flight crews, a move that will build confidence about traveling with Delta among our people and customers alike. The CVS Health Return Ready SM testing will be overseen by a CVS Health clinician at Delta hub crew lounges and takes fewer than 15 minutes to diagnose whether the active COVID-19 virus is detected.
“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,” said Joanne Smith, Delta’s Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer. “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 rapid-response nasal-swab test is the newest testing option Delta is providing employees so a baseline understanding of the infection can be established across Delta.
“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 travelling with Delta.”
“Our relationship with Delta and their commitment to testing underscores Delta’s leadership in taking swift action in response to the pandemic, serving as a model for organizations with large, diverse and geographically dispersed workforces, and shows the important role that Return Ready COVID-19 testing can play in supporting continuity for the business community across many different industries,” said Troyen Brennan, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer, CVS Health. “This is also another example of two values-based companies working together in innovative ways to keep people working while providing services people rely on.”
Health experts agree that a multi-layered approach that includes testing, regularly checking symptoms, wearing masks, distancing and personal hygiene are the greatest inhibitors to spreading COVID-19.
