South Korea pioneers coronavirus drive-through testing station

Health care workers at the University of Washington are now able to get tested for coronavirus via a drive-through. Providing both convenience and safety by limiting exposure of the potentially ill, the test only takes five minutes and those tested usually get their results within a day.

Rather than send local residents to city-run testing sites in the East Bay of California, clinics in East Oakland are now running their own testing sites to better serve their community. Although one of the sites has already tested nearly 100 people and residents who are underinsured or uninsured can be tested for free, some believe the effort should have started much sooner.

To prevent the transmission of coronavirus to medical professionals and other patients, a hospital in Seoul has started using a make-shift phone booth approach to administering tests. Within seven minutes, doctors are able to communicate with the patient, conduct the test from within an air-tight booth, and then disinfect the booth, all of which have significantly improved the hospital's efficiency of administering the test.

In early January, doctors at UW Medical Center began preparing for a coronavirus outbreak by transforming a research lab into a screening center for coronavirus that delivers results within a day. Now, coupled with a mobile clinic that allows for people to be tested from within the confines of their cars, the city has been able to test a large volume of people more safely than if they were being tested from within a hospital.

South Korea has had an extremely effective response to the coronavirus because of its fast and widespread use of testing. There are now drive-through tests available where people recommended by their doctor can take a test from the safety of their vehicle. This decreases the chances of transmission and lowers the stress of both patient and doctor. As a result, the rate of increase has been slowing since February 29, 2020.

Because of coordinated partnerships between local governments, state health departments, and nonprofit groups, more and more farmworkers are receiving COVID-19 vaccinations. Through the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Farmworker Health program and its partners, nearly 14,000 doses were administered to the farmworker community over two months. Advocates also have to dispel rumors and myths about the vaccines, but they are working to combat that misinformation and make it easier for them to get vaccinated.

Philadelphia's local government and health care providers are working to improve access to health care and coronavirus testing in minority and low-income neighborhoods. While a testing center is the newest addition to their efforts, local health care centers have been and will remain a crucial resource for residents to access telehealth services and information.

A new initiative in Cleveland, Ohio aims to increase Covid-19 testing access in communities where social determinants of health pose a barrier to accessing testing sites. The initiative, which complements other city-wide efforts to increase testing, is facilitated by a partnership between 17 local churches and the County Board of Health.

¡Salud! mobile clinics were a vital factor in keeping farm workers in Oregon vineyards safe during the national health crisis. The nonprofit is supported by the state's wine industry and has provided primary care wellness checks, vaccinations, and more for decades to workers, the majority of whom do not have any other access to health care. ¡Salud! provided testing and masks early on in addition to information about the importance of masks and social distancing. Translated CDC updates were also sent to the mostly spanish-speaking workers about the constantly-changing guidelines and precautions.

French officials have implemented a more preemptive strategy to battle a potential second wave of COVID-19 in the suburbs of Paris, which were home to those hardest hit by the virus in May. Health workers have set up testing sites in community centers where many residents of the local public housing come to do their laundry, watch TV, receive meals, and socialize. The suburbs are 'medical deserts' making medical care hard to access. The pop-up testing is free of charge and does not require an appointment. It has effectively increased the number of people tested and traced in the event of an outbreak.