Drive-through coronavirus testing introduced in Budapest

Photo: MTI/Balogh Zoltán

DriveCell Systems Ltd. has set up a non-contact, drive-through coronavirus testing station in the parking lot of the Budapest Groupama Arena. Thanks to the solution developed by the Hungarian company, anyone can participate in a nucleic acid-based (PCR) coronavirus test while sitting in their car after online registration and confirmation received from the company.

As the Hungarian news portal Index reports, drive-through testing has already been used successfully in several countries. The test’s most significant advantage is that the tested person can remain in the safe environment of his/her car. Sampling is done from the nasal and pharyngeal mucosa; participants are informed about the results within 24 hours.

In Hungary, registration can be completed on the platform called Tesztallomas.hu.

For the time being, payment can be realised at the test station by credit card; however, an online prepayment solution will soon be available as well. Participants can only come for the test by car or minibus. A vehicle may have more than one person living in the same household coming for an examination, but no escort is allowed.

According to the founder of DriveCell Systems Ltd., Gergely Erdős – “The system provides a more secure testing process than similar international solutions, as sampling only takes place after pre-registration online, and participants can arrive at a pre-arranged time. Therefore, paper-based documentation is not necessary for data collection either, as the entire data management is done digitally. Furthermore, the sampling process itself is extremely fast, taking only about 3-5 minutes”.

The PCR-based coronavirus tests are taken from the nasal and pharyngeal mucosa, and samples are analysed in a professional laboratory. The test is suitable for detecting the presence of coronavirus in the epithelial cells of the body so that the method can detect active infection.

Read also: Nationwide coronavirus testing could begin next week in Hungary

“According to experts, testing and laboratory examination of the infection play an important role in the control of the coronavirus pandemic. For the first time in Hungary, our platform offers a completely non-contact testing option, which is primarily aimed at screening suspected coronavirus cases and patients. The solution is available to both individuals and companies”– said Andy Zhang, founder of the company Rollet that provides the technological background for Tesztallomas.hu.

So far, the testing can be realised by 100 participants a day, and costs EUR 76 / person (~HUF 26,990 HUF).

According to recent plans, the first test station will be followed by additional sampling points in the capital and the countryside, to ensure nationwide coverage, so daily testing capacity will also increase. Besides PCR tests, new medically and officially reliable test methods may also be used in the future.