COVID-19 Large-Scale Drive-Through Screening Centers Begin Full Operation at Two Locations

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] The two large-scale COVID-19 drive-through screening centers being promoted by Gyeonggi Province have begun full operation.

According to the Province on the 7th, the screening center in the southern Gyeonggi region will operate from today at the Suwon World Cup Stadium parking lot (P4), while the facility in the northern Gyeonggi region will commence operations on the 8th at the parking lot of the Gyeonggi Province Northern Government Building located in Uijeongbu. Operating hours are from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. However, on the 7th and 8th when operations begin, testing will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Testing will be conducted in a 'drive-through' method, allowing COVID-19 screening while remaining in a vehicle. When suspected patients drive through following a one-way traffic route, medical personnel including doctors and nurses conduct the screening in the sequence of 'suspected patient verification and preliminary inquiry-medical consultation (specimen collection, etc.)-distribution of guidance materials,' followed by disinfection.

The Gyeonggi Province screening centers, equipped with 10 testing stations featuring negative pressure functionality across the two locations, can test a maximum of 600 people per day. In particular, through drive-through operation, the screening system minimizes contact with patients, reduces testing time, blocks infection and transmission risks within medical institutions, and establishes a rapid and safe testing system.

Additionally, in preparation for potential large-scale suspected patient outbreaks, the facilities are designed to also accommodate pedestrian screening, allowing for diverse operational methods depending on future COVID-19 spread trends.

The screening centers operate on a prior reservation system through the Gyeonggi Province 120 Call Center (031-120), so telephone reservations are mandatory for testing.

The Province anticipates that the establishment of large-scale screening centers will enable rapid mass testing even if numerous COVID-19 suspected patients occur, and plans to continue operating the screening centers until the COVID-19 crisis ends.

Once the COVID-19 crisis concludes, the container-type testing stations will be deployed to medical centers and other facilities for use in treating other infectious diseases such as measles and tuberculosis.

Choi Won-yong, Director of Planning and Coordination at the Provincial Government, stated, "We will do our utmost to ensure that medical personnel and patients can conduct screening in a pleasant and safe environment regarding facilities, equipment, and personnel for screening center operations, thereby protecting provincial residents from COVID-19."