Managing site safety at COVID-19 drive-through testing centres

Photo credit: Garic

The government has opened a network of regional drive-through sites across the country providing coronavirus testing facilities for frontline workers. Many of these facilities have been set up in partnership between the NHS and national and local sports clubs and stadiums, which have been closed during lockdown.

Two of these testing stations are at Cardiff City Stadium in Leckwith and at Twickenham rugby stadium in Surrey. Plant and welfare specialists Garic teamed up with safety specialists SafeSite Facilities to create the blueprint for safely managing vehicle and pedestrian traffic at these sites, which has since been rolled out at other testing centres.

Nearly a kilometre of SafeSite WonderWall Barriers, as well as other safety measures including traffic cones, zebra crossings and speed bumps have been installed at each testing facility to control traffic flow in and out of the drive-through centres.

Andy Archer, Sales Manager, SafeSite Facilities said: “We’re incredibly proud to have played a part in helping to set up these critical COVID-19 testing facilities, and that our safety configuration and choice of barrier system has since become the benchmark for how other NHS testing sites are being set up. With portable testing likely to be rolled out even further over the coming weeks, we would like to reassure our existing customers, and new ones, that we are well stocked and ready to support this crucial public health demand.”