CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - More COVID-19 testing sites are on the rise for Champaign. On Tuesday, residents will be able to drive up to the Market Place Mall for self-testing kits.

According to Julie Pryde with the Champaign Public Health Administration, she says more than 84 hundred tests have been completed all over Champaign county.

"We are encouraging everyone to go to the drive-through testing site--We're excited about that. It'll be at Marketplace Mall from 8-4 while supplies last and it'll be going 7 days a week so we hope to see those testing numbers increase a lot," she says.

One of the goals of testing is to have rapid identification of cases, evaluation, and isolation. This effort is all to help decrease the spread of COVID-19.

"More readily available testing will help us determine if close contacts to confirm cases have been infected. Testing is also important for the bigger public health picture so we can hone our mitigation efforts, do targeted interventions, and learn how the virus is spreading and to whom," says Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director of the Department of Public health.

She says the more testing sites they have, the closer they will be to re-opening Illinois.

"It's especially for our communities of color, our African American's and our Latinx communities who are being disproportionately impacted by this virus," she says.

All front line, essential workers, healthcare workers, first responders, and anyone with COVID-19 symptoms are asked to take a test. One thing to note, the test is free and insurance is not required.

The site is run by the national guard, that's according to Brigadier General Richard Neely with the Illinois National Guard.

"Although the national guard is running the test site, we are really working for the incident commander who is on-site on location," he says.

Commander Neely says once the individual arrives at the parking lot, one of the national guards along with someone in public health will direct the individual to the lane they should follow. Once that is done, they will either ask you to bring down your front window or back window. This is to keep their staff from being exposed. They will then proceed with paperwork to fill out so they can contact them with their results.

They want to remind the residents that this is a self-testing kit that is available at this drive-through location. They will tell you how to use it once you arrive.

The site will be open on Tuesday.