A medical staff takes Covid-19 test samples of a woman during drive-thru virus testing, on a converted ice rink, in Alkmaar April 8, 2020. — Reuters pic
“I come and pick one up on Wednesdays and get the result by this evening. It’s not compulsory, but it’s important, so I do it every week,” says 20-year-old translation and interpretation student Ruben Ponton.Two of his fellow students behind the desk check their peers’ ID cards, handing out more than 560 tests on Wednesday morning alone, and offer tips to those taking their first.
They “could get tested regularly with quick results, so we’d be able to check how the virus is spreading through these communities,” he suggests.Liege’s university hospital has started covering the cost of the kits — €12 excluding tax — in a bid to reduce queues at its drive-through testing centre, which have at times stretched to eight kilometres .