COVID-19 Drive-Through Point of Screening and Testing (POST) System: A Safe, Efficient, and Adaptable Model for Nasopharyngeal Swab Collection

Abstract

Objective: The authors aim to demonstrate that the current drive-through testing model at a health district was improved in certain parameters compared with a previous testing protocol, and to provide the methodology of the current model for other coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing sites to potentially emulate.

Methods: Initially, a small drive-through site was constructed at a converted tuberculosis clinic, but due to an increase in testing needs, an expanded point of screening and testing (POST) system was developed in an event center parking lot to administer tests to a higher volume of patients.

Results: An average of 51.1 patients was tested each day (2.0 tests per personnel in personal protective equipment [PPE] per hour) at the initial tuberculosis clinic drive-through site, which increased to 217.8 patients tested each day (5.9 tests per personnel in PPE per hour) with the new drive-through POST system (P < 0.001). Mean testing time was 3.4 minutes and the total time on-site averaged 14.4 minutes.

Conclusions: This POST drive-through system serves as an efficient, safe, and adaptable model for high volume COVID-19 nasopharyngeal swabbing that the authors recommend other COVID-19 testing sites nationwide consider adopting for their own use.

Keywords: COVID-19; coronavirus; drive-through; health district; screening.

FIGURE 1

Schematic of the COVID-19 Testing Operation Conducted by the Health District and Located at an Adjacent Event Center. A, B, and C represent the 3 checkpoint stations where patients would stop their automobiles for check-in or testing; 1, 2, and 3 represent the testing stations, each staffed by 3 swabbing personnel. Exit A is an alternative exit for patients presenting without a confirmed appointment, and Exit B is the regular exit after testing. W represents the WCHD building, where the testers don, doff, and store PPE. The biohazard sign signifies the decontamination area for PPE. Map: Google, Maxar Technologies.

FIGURE 2

Number of Patients Tested Each Day at the Drive-through Testing Site Provided by the WCHD. The dates to the left of the line, prior to April 1, 2020, represent Phase 1 of testing conducted at the TB clinic. The dates to the right of the line, after April 1, 2020, represent Phase 2 of testing with the expanded POST system. Area under the curve represents all patients tested by the WCHD for COVID-19 until the cessation of data collection, involving 3903 patient tests in total.