02.12.2020Covid Test Center in Dübendorf: a unique glimpse behind the scenes

Svantje, when did you start working at the Corona Drive-in-Testcenter?
The test center was build up very quickly, the center opened only 2 weeks after the idea was born. I started helping there after the center opened on November 6 and work here once a week now.  However, the UZH Space Hub, under the lead of Prof. Oliver Ullrich was  involved right from the beginning, as soon as the request came from the University Hospital Balgrist, and contributes with organizational and conceptual work and by recruiting of personal for the medical, organizational and logistic tasks of the center. Moreover, a part of one hangar of the airfield was separated and converted into a laboratory enabling the center to offer antigen-tests additionally to PCR tests.

What is the UZH Space Hub experience with this kind of tasks?
To build up and run a laboratory for high throughput testing from scratch is not easy. This task was handed over to Dr. Cora Thiel, the group leader of the research group of Prof. Oliver Ullrich, which I am also part of. Cora and the  team rely on a large knowledge and could bring in 15 years of experience with space-projects that demand worldwide laboratory work under high time pressure and difficult conditions. What was built up in the hangar: People in medical protective clothing working with laboratory equipment in the vicinity of airplanes and heavy workshop-equipment. While this might be an uncommon picture at first glance, antigen-testing can be performed professionally and is working well, and we are happy to use our experience to fight the pandemic.

What kind of tests are offered there? How does it work?
The test center offers PCR tests and Antigen “quick” tests. For both, people have to sign in online in advance for a time slot. They come by car and stay in the car during the whole procedure. First, cars are led to check-in-tents for registration. They continue to one of four test stations, where a sample is taken from their nose, and that is already it. The samples are taken mostly by experienced medical students who are hired specifically for this. Samples for PCR tests are analyzed by external laboratories, and the result is communicated within 24-48 hours. The antigen “quick”-tests, in contrast, are done in the newly established laboratory on site and people get the result within only two hours. For the antigen-tests, scientific personal, laboratory personal and well-trained students have been hired and work under the lead of the UZH Space Hub member Dr. Cora Thiel. In total, the center can do up to 500 tests every day.

In what does your job at the test center consist of?
When I am at the center, I am responsible for the antigen-test laboratory. A team of 3-7 people perform the antigen-tests, document them and transmit the results to the University Hospital Balgrist, who is in contact with the tested persons. My job is to make sure the workflow stays fluent and free of mistakes. This requires precise working instructions, coordination with the University Hospital Balgrist, supply of material and more.

How many people are involved? What is their background?
For the test center more than 100 people have been hired. They take the samples from the tested persons, help with administration, organization and logistics, and perform the antigen-tests. Their backgrounds reach from scientific, laboratory, nursing, and sales education to students of life sciences and medicine.

Is it still possible to join the team? If yes, how?
Yes, you can check out the callon our Space Hub homepage.

Image credits: Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) & Regina Sablotny, UZH