Sign for at a COVID-19 testing centre

Sign for “Chef Rona’s fresh, juicy MASTER MIX” at Cambridge COVID-19 Test Centre, based at the Anne McLaren Building on the University of Cambridge Biomedical Campus, April 2020 - April 2021

At times of great upheaveal and distress, small moments of humour can help ease a small amount of tension. it is unclear what each of the pictures mean, but they held significance for the staff at the Cambridge COVID-19 Test Centre. One that is Corona beer bottle, which has also been designed to look like an approximation of the virus. At the state of the pandemic, the makers put out a statement in the United States saying that there was no correlation between the pandemic and their product.

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. Staff 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.