A new German drive-thru isn’t doling out fast food — it’s testing people for the novel coronavirus.
Doctors at the local hospital in the small German town of Gross-Gerau launched the drive-thru last week as a quick, creative way to screen people for the deadly bug and minimize exposure for medical staff and patients.
“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary solutions,” Dr. Roxana Sauer, who works at the Gross-Gerau District Hospital, told Agence France-Presse.
People who suspect they may have contracted the infection can call ahead and speak to a doctor, who decides whether they should be tested.
Each person is assigned a time slot and asked to park outside a side entrance, where they are met by a doctor wearing protective gear.
The doctor then conducts the test by swabbing the potential patient’s mouth or nostril.
“For Germans, the car is their safe space,” hospital Managing Director Erika Raab said. “It’s where they feel comfortable.”
Drivers are then allowed to leave — receiving their test results over the phone within 24 hours.
“People love that it can be done so quickly and easily,” Sauer said.
Of the 32 tests conducted at the drive-thru so far, none have come back positive for COVID-19.
A Seattle hospital, University of Washington Medical Center Northwest — located in King County, the epicenter of the outbreak in the US — has opened a drive-thru to test its employees for the virus.
A number of locations in South Korea launched roadside drive-thru testing facilities late last month.
The virus has so far infected more than 118,000 people worldwide and caused at least 4,200 deaths.
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