Laminated sign for opening times for “Deb’s Diner” which catered for staff working at Cambridge COVID-19 Test Centre, based at the Anne McLaren Building on the University of Cambridge Biomedical Campus, April 2020 - April 2021

With people working shifts day and night, balancing with their personal lives with their roles as researchers, lecturers, or students, often left little time to make sure they were eating and drinking enough. Deb’s Diner had long meal sessions to throughout the day to cater for those testing samples.

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 COVID-19 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.