Drive-through testing for SARS-CoV-2 in symptomatic health and social care workers and household members: an observational cohort study
- PMID: 32855343
- PMCID: PMC7677465
- DOI: 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2020-215128
Drive-through testing for SARS-CoV-2 in symptomatic health and social care workers and household members: an observational cohort study
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.
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
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

References
-
- World Health Organization Case definitions for surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), 2003. Available: (https://www.who.int/csr/sars/casedefinition/en/) [Accessed 13 Apr 2020].
-
- World Health Organisation Report of the WHO-China joint mission on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), 2020. Available: https://ttps://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/who-china-jo... [Accessed 13 Apr 2020].
Publication types
MeSH terms
Substances
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical
Miscellaneous