Efficient security concept

25 June 2020

All Large Scale Testing (LST) related employees are tested at two-week intervals to ensure maximum safety. As with all working groups, there is a possibility that asymptomatic positives may carry the virus and could be potentially contagious. Some days ago, one laboratory employee was thus actually identified positively. This person was asymptomatic with a low viral load and was immediately sent to quarantine. As the person did not work at the actual test stations but was treating the samples in the laboratory, he was at no point in contact with participants of the Large Scale Testing. A subsequent contact tracing process identified two other infected laboratory employees, also asymptomatic with very low virus titers. The head of the Inspection Sanitaire was immediately informed, and the follow-up was carried out according to the guidelines of the Inspection Sanitaire. 

As the three staff members were at no point in contact with participants of the Large Scale Testing it can be excluded that persons invited to the test were infected by one of these employees. Nevertheless, this case highlights once more the importance of systematic testing even if there are no symptoms apparent at all.

The security measures at the test stations are very high. Employees are equipped with masks, gloves, face shields, special overalls and disinfectants. Persons in the laboratories are also equipped with masks, gloves and laboratory coats (and face shields if necessary). In addition, like all workers who are exposed to a high number of contacts every day (healthcare, hairdressers, etc.), they are tested for the novel coronavirus every two weeks.

Similar articles