Following in the footsteps of South Korea, officials have set up coronavirus testing kiosks at the government hospital in Tirupur.
“There is a clinical booth and a sample taking booth that have been set up. It will be undertaken as a two-step process. There will be a separate space for history taking and consulting of cases. People with general symptoms or symptoms of influenza-like illness (ILI), here is where they will be consulted. If they have history which is indicative of COVID-19, then we will send them to the other booth, where samples will be taken,” stated District Collector Dr Vijayakarthikeyan to the media.
Our First of it’s kind #COVID19 Sample collection Booth has been set up in our #Tiruppur GH premises ! Patients screened at the #Covid booth / #Covid 19 fever clinic at the entrance shall be guided here for the sample. #IndiaFightsCorona #திருப்பூர் pic.twitter.com/NFzwEhGUGi
— Vijayakarthikeyan K (@Vijaykarthikeyn) April 8, 2020
The Walk-in Sample Kiosk (WISK) is a clear, transparent and sterile booth. Medical personnel inside can use gloves attached to the kiosk to take throat swab samples from people sitting outside the booth. After each person is tested, the gloves and chair on which the individual sat are disinfected.
Samples are taken in a sterile and clean environment in the kiosks and sent for testing. The dean of the Tirupur Government Hospital will be overseeing the entire process and will be able to help determine if an individual requires further work-up.
The Collector added that rapid testing kits will arrive on April 10, following which those too will be utilised. The clinical booth has been set up with the help of the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
Earlier, similar testing kiosks were set up in Kerala’s Ernakulam Government Medical College. Two sample collection kiosks called ‘Walk-in Sample Kiosks’ or WISKs were set up on the hospital premises. This model was adapted from the South Korean collection sample models, and has come handy in view of the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers.
Officials in Kerala had also stated at the time that using the WISK meant that there was less demand for PPE as the booth provided a proper barrier between them and the individual being tested.