Coronavirus pandemic: US open drive-through testing centers based on successful South Korea model
Several countries, including the US, are now replicating South Korea's innovative model of testing its citizens for the new coronavirus: Drive-through testing stations.
After coming under the fire for messing up its coronavirus testing capacity and putting citizens at risk, the US has set up drive-through testing stations in various cities across Washington, Colorado, New York, Texas, Minnesota, Illinois and Connecticut. In Europe, Germany and Scotland have also made way for such testing stations.
This approach is becoming increasingly popular in the US: it is quick and reduces the chances of infections. “This is a very creative way of testing,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo told a news conference on Friday.
More than 2,900 people have been diagnosed in the US with COVID-19 and 57 are dead.
"Today we opened the State's first drive-through #COVID19 mobile testing center in New Rochelle. The Mobile Testing Center has 6 lanes and can test up to 200 ppl today and up to 500 ppl/day in the coming days. It is not only faster and easier, but it’s also smarter and safer," Cuomo tweeted on March 13.
To avail the service, people need to pick up a phone, make an appointment and drive to the stations, explained Cuomo. At the station, health workers dressed in hazmat suits check passengers for temperatures, shortness of breath. They then collect swabs before sending them to a lab nearby.
"It's not only faster and easier, but it's also smarter and safer because you're not exposing people who may be positive," he told CNN.
Bloomberg reported that people are lining up to get themselves tested. In Denver, people waited for almost four hours, until the state cut off the service for the day.
Even hospitals and clinics in some states have opened their doors to drive-through testing. For instance, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and the M Health Fairview system in Minneapolis both launched free drive-through testing.
Through this approach, South Korea tested more than 200,000 in weeks. The US may have conducted less than 18,400 tests, according to COVID-19 Tracker.
Just last week, Carolyn Maloney, who recently chaired a meeting on coronavirus preparedness and response, questioned why the US did not replicate South Korea's model.
"I want to get to South Korea in their 50 mobile testing sites that they’ve set up where people can just drive up, get a quick swab, get a test and results in two days. These centers minimize interaction between patients. It helps mitigate the risk. And why haven’t we set up these mobile labs? Are we planning to set them up?" she had questioned.
On March 13, the Trump administration announced that it is working to increase its testing capacity and set up drive-through tests. He added that there could be 5 million coronavirus tests within a month.
"We've been in discussions with pharmacies and retailers to make drive-through tests available in the critical locations identified by public-health officials. The goal is for individuals to be able to drive up and be swabbed without having to leave your car," he said at a news conference.