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Walmart, DroneUp and Secaucus-based Quest Diagnostics on Tuesday said they partnered to launch pilot deliveries of collection kits in North Las Vegas beginning early next month.

Knowledge from this pilot will help determine what roles drones can play in pandemic response, health care delivery and retail.

Drone deliveries will launch from the North Las Vegas Walmart to single-family homes within a 1-mile radius of the store and be available while supplies last every day from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., weather and visibility permitting. Once delivered, patients will perform a self-administered nasal swab and ship the sample to a Quest Diagnostics lab using a provided pre-paid envelope for processing at the lab. They  will receive their COVID-19 test results through the secure Quest Diagnostics MyQuest online portal or app.

“Walmart has been serving the North Las Vegas community throughout the pandemic with drive-thru testing sites, and we wanted to provide another way to access testing that provides convenience and leverages technology while learning how drones could impact the delivery of health care in the future,” said Amanda Jenkins, vice president of operation support and implementation, Walmart U.S. Health and Wellness.

There is no delivery cost for those who qualify to receive the at-home self-collection kit through this pilot program. Patients must meet Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state and local guidelines for testing and must be 18 years of age or older.

Patients within designated service area of the North Las Vegas Walmart can request a drone delivery appointment here.