Sign showing social distancing measures at a COVID-19 testing centre

Sign “Stop the spread” using the word stop to highlight two metre social distancing between people displayed in the laboratory areas at Cambridge COVID-19 Test Centre, based at the Anne McLaren Building on the University of Cambridge Biomedical Campus, April 2020 - April 2021

Two metres was the strictest form of social distancing in England used to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Many of the buildings transformed into testing centres were not built with physical separation in mind so signage played an important role in reminding people of what they could do to protect themselves.

Delivered in just five weeks rather than the normal six month fit out for a testing laboratory the Cambridge COVID-19 Test Centre tested 3 million samples during its year of operation. 14 robots speeded up the testing rate by six times. The Test Centre was originally a collaboration between the University of Cambridge, AstraZeneca and GSK, staffed by volunteers from the three sites, many of leaving their studies or roles for a few months, or taking on additional jobs. Volunteers worked in shift patterns in the same role to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In June 2020, the testing centre transition to a directly employed workforce, rather than relying on volunteers. The laboratory was run by Charles River Laboratories with 200 staff.