The MOH Instagram account posted the teaser above saying drive-thru testing is coming soon. I’m now kinda curious to see where they’d set these up, the old McDonalds on the Gulf Road would be a great spot since it already handled one of the longest drive-thru lines ever.
Update: I was just informed the first drive-thru testing location will be located at the Jazeera Airways Park & Fly facility. Will be getting more information soon.
Update2: Here is a photo of one lane they’re currently testing. There will be a total of 3 lanes when ready. 2 lanes for the rapid and swab test if u do not have a fever. 1 lane for the full test if u have a fever or if your swab test showed something wrong. You can have 4 people max per car and they will be able to process up to 100 cars per hour at this location.
30 replies on “Drive-Thru COVID-19 Testing Soon”
the swab test is not fun – it involves sticking a long cotton swab 8 inches up your nose and twisting it
8 inches (that`s 20+ cm) up your nose? unless you have a proboscis, I don`t see how that`s possible and a swab at that depth will collect sample from your larynx.
Recommendations for deep swab sampling are mentioning an insertion of the swab shaft to a depth of 1inch (2.54cm) or slightly over, for adults.
You can look it up on google or:
https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pdf/freeresources/healthcare/flu-specimen-collection-guide.pdf
Google it – it’s through your nose to your THROAT
Buddy, the nasopharynx or upper side of the throat if you wish, from where is recommended to collect the swab for Covid-19, is located for most people at an average depth of 10 cm, 4inch, from the nostrils.
That’s about half of your 8 inches.
I really hope its a swab and not that cheap blood antibody pregnancy test that doesnt work.
As I understood from their Instagram post its antibodies test, if positive, you get swab test. Though I hope this wont be the case once they begin.
An antibody would tell you if you had the virus in the past, yeah?
Just had both a nasopharyngeal and an oral swab done. The nasal swab feels like OD’ing on Wasabi but other than that is fine. Plus, it’s kinda awkward with the oral swab- you could experience a gag reflex and that’s when you are most prone to coughing, and spreading the contagion.
I am a bit surprised the drive thru facility for Kuwait has taken as long as it has. They could easily have set one up at the Fair Grounds, the shaded parking of 360 Mall, Avenues shaded and open parking lots as well as in the Shaheed Park- parking area. Ahmadi could have its own where the Ahmadi Drive-in cinema once stood.
To my mind, it was a wasted opportunity. Drive- thru should have happened at least a month back. But better late than never.
Hey how did you manage to get the swab test? I’ve been turned away for it despite having breathing issues.
old jazeera airways logo/image
It’s the only photo I have 🤷🏼♂️
I am still wondering about the usefulness of testing. I mean, if I have symptoms I understand the test would rule out other infections. But if I am healthy why test…. I mean I might get a negative result and then get infected the next day.
For public health I think it would be useful if they included other tests as well,ie TB (maybe an STI panel) It seems we have forgotten about other contagious deseases.
I thought it was gonna be random locations :/
I am still wondering about the usefulness of testing. I mean, if I have symptoms I understand the test would rule out other infections. But if I am healthy why test…. I mean I might get a negative result and then get infected the next day.
For public health I think it would be useful if they included other tests as well,ie TB (maybe an STI panel) It seems we have forgotten about other contagious deseases.
You can’t be serious? You think this would be more useful if they tested you for sexually transmitted diseases? Because the world is going through a pandemic because you decided to hook up and didn’t use protection?
If this drive thru didn’t test you for corona but tested you for every other diseases in existence and even cured cancer, it still wouldn’t be as useful right now as a drive thru that detects just the coronavirus.
A lot of people might have corona but not have symptoms. So they would be spreading it to friends, family, coworkers and other people they interact with. By finding out you are infected you can quarantine yourself until you no longer carry the virus and so halt the spread of it.
No I wasn’t serious, the STI addition was a joke!
But my comment was wondering about the testing if you don’t have symptoms. Yes there are those who are incubators without exhibiting symptoms, particularly children.
But since it is so highly contagious I could literally be exposed and become infected 10 minutes after testing negative. So do I test often until a vaccine is available?
Oh ok cuz it didn’t make sense. But yeah u can be exposed and become infected 10mins after taking the test but the idea is to know if you already are infected so if you are you don’t spread it
I went to the testing centre in the hospital the other day as my wife and kids are flying out Tuesday and we thought it would help to get a test particularly as my wife’s mother (who they will be living with) had a lobe removed from her lung with cancer just two months ago and is thus extremely vulnerable.
We initially went to our local hospital (Adan) and they sent us to Jaber but Jaber sent us back to Adan again – who said they don’t do tests so it proved impossible to get one.
But frankly – I take this pandemic a little bit relaxed. It doesn’t particularly worry me to be honest – but I was genuinely scared at the hospital.
They had a big plastic tarpaulin setup like at the end of the film ET and several medics in full face plastic face shields looking terrified. There must have been over 100 Indians there with pieces of paper – so I assumed they were sent there because they’d been in contact. There was loads of security but no social discipline at all. The Indians looked terrified – they were standing should to shoulder jostling and pushing their paper forward.
It looked out of control and if I have ever caught the disease it would have been there.
It was horrible.
So my wife and kids didn’t get a test but frankly – I wouldn’t want to expose them to that anyway.
My respect for the medical people there was immense. They looked terrified but were still so professional.
distancing not disciplining.
So what happens if someone were to test positive? Would they be allowed to quarantine at home? I think the outcome of a positive test would determine if a person who suspects they may have Corona would go and get tested. If they would be allowed to be sick at home and have the medics check up on them and go to the hospital only when needed, it could prevent the hospital from being too saturated and allow people to be a little more comfy than the hospital would. This is assuming that the person is in the 80% of cases with symptoms that are mild. Any idea on how positive cases are being handled?
The problem with this is that those with mild symptoms ignore home quarantine and go out whenever they want, and they don’t even wear protection!
Can’t they handle this situation like they do the Kuwaitis being repatriated where they require them to wear a bracelet for tracking and call throughout the day to verify their whereabouts? Seems so much cheaper and better than having them take up space in the hospital. I’m sure they have this whole thing figured out though as they’re doing so well so far in their handling of this so far. I’m just curious 😊.
Positive cases are immediately taken to the hospital, and family members plus whoever came in contact with will be tested
The asymptomatic carriers are the biggest public health worry today. Per the Economist magazine, an asymptomatic carrier if allowed to freely move around minus any curbs, in a society with no circuit breakers/ lockdowns in place has the potential to infect as many as 3000 individuals in a 6 week time span. That’s how infectious it can get without curfews and circuit breakers!
Also an ideal drive through is where the person collecting the sample is sat inside of a glass cubicle and all of the time he or she is inside of your ‘new privates” ( the nose and mouth) the operator is behind a glass facade. Absent this is a mockery of drive thru collections. The sample collectors are at a significantly higher risk of getting infected than are people in cars using the facility.
Just enforce wearing mask every. It will protect everyone and won’t even care if someone is a carrier or not.
South Korea and Taiwan have done that, and they have almost normal daily life and business with little to none new covid cases.
Agree, it’s the way forward.
Why would they be tested twice? How accurate is the rapid test?
Not very accurate, I was told 50% accurate
This is an example
https://youtu.be/32OWRXZQ9kg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkYn5-MFRvw
This would have been a safer setup