Staff at Prince Albert's drive-thru testing site on Wednesday. From left: left to right: Corina Brahniuk, Coral Dallman, Alysea Watson, and Gloria Sanderson. (Submitted photo/Saskatchewan Health Authority)

By Alison Sandstrom

COVID-19

No ordinary drive-thru: staff weather the cold at P.A. COVID-19 testing site

Feb 18, 2021 | 1:50 PM

After being closed for 10 days due to dangerously cold temperatures, staff at Prince Albert’s drive-thru COVID-19 testing site are back in action this week – and the weather isn’t exactly tropical.

In addition to other COVID-19 testing options in P.A., the Saskatchewan Health Authority has been staffing the drive thru site seven-days a week since it opened on Dec. 2, only pausing when the mercury sinks below -30 C. Considerations are also made for windchill on an ad hock basis.

The careful consideration of the weather is necessitated by the fact the site – which can do as many as 180 tests per day – is inside a repurposed carwash with large bay doors prone to drafts.

“We do have safeguards in the way that we are opening and closing those doors and there’s processes in place to limit the amount of heat loss, but it is cold for sure,” drive thru site lead Mindy Green told paNOW.

Staff at work inside Prince Albert’s drive-thru testing site at The Cone Shop Car Wash, 890 6th Ave E. (Submitted/Saskatchewan Health Authority)

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Special overhead heaters have been installed in the car wash and the nurses and clerical support staff wear layers of warm clothing, explained Green. There’s also warm up areas for SHA staff and traffic controllers in the front of the cone shop.

“Ultimately we do our best to ensure safe workspaces for our staff and truthfully they’ve gone above and beyond when it comes to working in these conditions,” Green said. “It just shows their dedication to responding during this pandemic.”

Green emphasized getting tested for COVID-19 at the drive-thru site is straightforward and quick, explaining wait times are usually minimal. People can be tested with or without symptoms. The public’s participation in testing is a key piece of the province’s offensive strategy against the virus.

“It [testing] is a great tool to help fight the pandemic,” she said.

Staff at the drive-thru site work between there and the main COVID-19 testing and assessment centre in Prince Albert. Testing at that centre is available by appointment with a referral from 811 or a health care provider.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom