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Review
. 2020 Dec;75(12):1109-1111.
doi: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-215128. Epub 2020 Aug 27.

Drive-through testing for SARS-CoV-2 in symptomatic health and social care workers and household members: an observational cohort study

Affiliations
Review

Drive-through testing for SARS-CoV-2 in symptomatic health and social care workers and household members: an observational cohort study

Benjamin J Parcell et al. Thorax. 2020 Dec.

Abstract

The requirement for health and social care workers to self-isolate when they or their household contacts develop symptoms consistent with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can lead to critical staff shortages in the context of a pandemic. In this report, we describe the implementation of a drive-through testing service in a single National Health Service region in Scotland. From 17 March 2020 to 11 April 2020, 1890 SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription PCR assay (RT-PCR) tests were performed. 22% of tests were positive. Allowing the remaining 78% of staff to return to work within 24 hours was estimated to save over 8000 working days during the peak pandemic period.

Keywords: clinical epidemiology; infection control; viral infection.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: JDC declares fees for consultancy and research grants from Astrazeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Chiesi, Glaxosmithkline, Gilead Sciences, Insmed and Zambon outside the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Process for requesting testing and reporting results. This illustrates the requirements for a successful testing programme including: (1) clear criteria for referral for testing; (2) sufficient adequately trained staff to perform testing; (3) a suitable location to set-up a drive through testing hub; (4) a robust process for managing and reporting back results to staff members; (5) sufficient testing capacity to process staff RT-PCR tests; and (6) ability to adapt the service to changing epidemiology, staff needs and case definitions in the context of an outbreak. CTT, community testing team.

References

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