LEXINGTON, Ky. — The free public drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at UK's Kroger Field has expanded its hours of operation and overall capacity, seeking to better meet the Lexington community's needs.

The Kroger Field testing site will now be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. The number of drive-thru lanes has also been increased to six to ensure minimal wait times.

Appointments are required and can be arranged for both the Kroger Field and Eastern State Hospital location here.

Testing at Eastern State Hospital is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week.

UK Police Chief Joe Monroe, who is heading up UK’s Emergency Operations Center during the COVID-19 pandemic, said it is imperative that an appointment be made prior to arrival so that the streamlined process can operate at peak efficiency.

Officials said holiday hours are consistent with regular hours. At the moment, testing will be open until Dec. 30 at both sites.

“As Kentucky is seeing a surge in positive cases of COVID-19, we want to do our part to test as many people as possible through the end of the year,” Monroe said. “Our goal is to test more than 40,000 people this month between both sites, and we can accomplish that with this expansion of capacity and hours.”

Wild Health, UK's COVID-19 testing partner, said 99% of test results will be sent out on the same day the test is performed.

Bryce Shreve is a digital producer with Spectrum News 1 KY. He is a recent graduate of Indiana University Southeast and joined the staff in November, 2020.