PCR testing is a crucial capability for managing disease outbreaks because COVID-19 infection symptoms are diverse and people with mild symptoms can still infect others. Hence, effective daily mass testing methods are an important intervention strategy for controlling any disease because they can contribute to detecting infection cases and enforcing the necessary mitigation strategies, such as social distancing. At the beginning of the outbreak, China and South Korea both suffered from a severe shortage of testing kits.

To ensure high-quality testing for large numbers of people, South Korea established temporary drive-through screening centers. The steps include testee registration and specimen collection. A short message is sent within 24 hours with the results. The entire service takes about ten minutes. These labs became at the forefront of this global pandemic control process.

One screening center in Seoul consists of four trailer-like offices with white canopies in front. Doctors in full protective suits and goggles take the driver’s temperature with an infrared thermometer and hand out a questionnaire to fill out.  If you’re running a fever and, in the doctor’s opinion, may be at risk based on where you’ve been or whom you’vecontacted, you’re eligible for a test. Only the driver is tested — passengers are not.

Within the same context, the Abu Dhabi Health Authority launched a similar initiative. Screening centers will be established in Dubai and Sharjah to serve Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al-Khaimah, Fujairah, Al Ain, and Al Dhafra by mid-April. These centers operate daily in Abu Dhabi from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm. The test is provided free of charge while taking into account that priority is given to potentially infected people and those at a higher risk of infection, such as the elderly, pregnant women, or people suffering from chronic diseases.

South Korea has more than 500 screening sites, which have screened 100,000 people. Drive-through screening centers speed up tests and increase their number, thus allowing South Korea to surpass other countries as it has tested as many as 384 people in one day.

As for the United Arab Emirates, the screening center in Abu Dhabi offers its services to 600 at-risk persons. Moreover, a decision was made to establish screening centers in other emirates to improve testing potentials across the country.