Coronavirus pandemic | Delhi private lab offers drive-through testing for COVID-19

Dr Dang’s Lab (DDL), a Delhi-based private laboratory, is offering drive-through testing for the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, according to a report by The Indian Express.

DDL began the drive-through testing on April 6 morning at West Delhi’s Punjabi Bagh, the report said.

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“At the central market in Punjabi Bagh, there is a 30-40 metre-long stretch that we have turned into the drive-through premises; only one car is allowed inside at any given time," Arjun Dang, chief executive officer (CEO) of DDL, told the paper.

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Two-wheelers and taxis are not permitted at the testing centre, the report said.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the story.

Apart from the usual guidelines and queries, individuals will be asked questions such as the make and colour of the car, and the number plate, The Indian Express reported.

The drive-through testing centre has four stations, all of which will contain a sign saying "please keep your windows rolled up", the report said.

The swabs are collected at the third station, which is a temporary structure, a white box with double-sided ventilation, the report added.

The staff will be in personal protective equipment (PPE), the report said.

After a patient books an appointment online, a PDF is emailed with guidelines such as "only two patients per vehicle, patient to be seated on the right as the booth is one the right".

Dang said people are still apprehensive about home collection of samples for COVID-19 testing.

"People still have apprehensions that the person coming to test must have gone to several houses to collect those samples," Dang said.

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