Sign from a sample preparation area of a COVID-19 testing centre

Sign “Sample Input Area Processing Priority” including printed instructions, with a yellow smiley face, displayed at the Sample Input area where COVID-19 samples were delivered after initial unpacking and heat treatment at Cambridge COVID-19 Test Centre, based at the Anne McLaren Building on the University of Cambridge Biomedical Campus, April 2020 - April 2021

Throughout the year long operation of the Cambridge COVID-19 Test Centre, the team priotised samples. Those coming in via Royal Mail or for Addenbrookes Hospital or the University of Cambridge were tested first. Staff and volunteers at the Test Centre also had regular tests and worked in the same team and shift patterns to lower the risk of COVID-19 spreading.

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. 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. 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.