Health area Manager Soraya Elloker in the mobile testing booth with Alderman Felicity Purchase outside.
- Mobile testing booths will aid efforts to increase the number of tests of vulnerable individuals at risk of more severe illness, the City of Cape Town says.
- The tester uses special external glove extensions to reach out and perform nasopharyngeal swabs without any major difficulties.
- Infections nationwide is at 373 628, with the Western Cape home to 23% of these.
Mobile testing booths, described as an innovative cost-effective solution to increase testing capacity for Covid-19, will be rolled out at 17 clinics in Cape Town.
The booths will aid efforts to increase the number of tests of vulnerable individuals at risk of more severe illness, City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for community services and health, Zahid Badroodien said in a statement.
The locations of the 17 clinics are Albow Gardens, Langa, Bloekombos, Wallacedene, Town Two, Doctor Ivan Toms, Ikhwezi, Kuyasa CDC, Manenberg, Delft South, St. Vincent, Gugulethu, Weltevreden Valley, Masiphumelele, Seawinds, Phumlani and Tafelsig.
“As local cases of transmissions of the coronavirus continue to rise in the Cape metropole it brings with it a demand for screening and testing from communities,” he said.
“To ensure we maintain the safety of healthcare staff, Covid-19 testing booths are being utilised as a faster way for health workers to test patients at various health facilities, without having to come into direct contact with the person being tested.”
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The tester uses special external glove extensions to reach out and perform nasopharyngeal swabs without any major difficulties, he explained.
Disinfected
The gloves were cleaned and disinfected before the next person was tested.
“Our new testing booths will allow us to conduct tests with an added layer of safety for both the person conducting the test and the person being tested. Importantly, it will allow us to save valuable personal protection equipment (PPE), as there is a worldwide shortage at present.
“The testing booths are designed for a single operator who will not need to don PPE whilst testing, although a surgical mask is still recommended.”
According to the latest statistics released by the Western Cape government, the province, on Tuesday, stood at 85 009 confirmed Covid-19 cases with 673 new infections reported.
Infections nationwide is at 373 628, with Gauteng home to 36.6% of cases, Western Cape 23% and the Eastern Cape 17.5%.
