Officials at the GW Hospital, Medical Faculty Associates and University are partnering to build a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site on campus.

GW Medical Faculty Associates spokeswoman Barbara Porter said the drive-thru testing station, located on 20th and H streets, will launch April 6 and will operate from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. She said the testing is a partnership between the MFA, the GW Hospital and the University.

William Borden, the chief quality and population health officer for the Medical Faculty Associates, said at a town hall Tuesday that D.C. government officials asked the hospital to begin constructing the testing area.

“We think that it’s important that the testing be part of overall care with the health care provider, rather than just the testing in isolation,” he said at the town hall.

Borden said patients need a test order from their primary care physician to be screened, and those without a doctor can consult a GW health care provider for an appointment over the phone to determine if they need testing. Patients can set up an appointment to visit the testing site through the District’s 311 call center or a website that will be launched soon, Borden said.

GW Hospital chief medical officer Bruno Petinaux said at a briefing late last month that the hospital has taken measures like canceling elective surgeries and setting up a screening tent outside the hospital to prepare to screen and treat patients.