I was able to help a local secondary school conduct on site lateral flow testing for COVID. Here is a note of how it worked, for the historical record.
In the school sports hall, there were six "booths", one volunteer per booth. Students administered the test to themselves, but the volunteer was there to explain how to do it, and hand them the swab.
Behind each, another volunteer ready to test the sample.
Also present, two "runners" (I was one), one and sometimes two people to ask the student to fill in their name and date of birth on a card, and one to enter the data.
Students arrived, were asked by a runner to sanitise their hands, then go to the desk to fill in the card.
The runner then directed them to a vacant booth (which were cleaned in between students), where everything was explained and the student did the test. They then went to a seat (via another volunteer who handed them a home testing kit if they did not have one - three tests in school, then home self testing).
Test fluid was put in a tube, the swab stirred around and then discarded, and the tube passed to the volunteer behind, who put two drops of the fluid onto the lateral flow test "stick", and started a timer.
The student waited until it was clear that the test was not void, then told (by the runner) they could leave. This was done by shouting their name across the room, so librarian skills were very useful! At a previous session they had waited until the result was known, but that meant too many people waiting. And at another, they had been allowed to leave immediately they had taken the test, but it was a problem getting them back if the test was void.
When the timer sounded, the card was marked negative or positive, and a runner took it for data entry.
All volunteers had completed online training supplied by the NHS Test and Trace programme.
And we were all wearing PPE - gloves, mask, apron.
Students are now testing themselves at home and reporting results, a subject for another post perhaps.
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