The
Health Services Authority has expanded their testing capacity for
COVID-19 screenings with the opening of two drive through screening
tents for frontline workers and expansion of their laboratory to
increase the processing of samples in a day.

HSA CEO
Lizzette Yearwood said she is pleased with how the drive through
screening has gone since opening last week. “There are many
logistics and steps in the process to ensure it operates as
efficiently as possible.”

Upon arrival
at the HSA’s drive through screening area, the whole process takes
approximately 5 minutes.

HSA has also
expanded physical laboratory space at the Cayman Islands Hospital,
partnered with a private lab and has hired and trained additional
laboratory staff in order to increase testing capacity. “It has
been a tremendous effort from many persons to get us to this point,
and we continue to look at ways to further increase testing capacity,
said Yearwood. “These latest improvements and expansions are a
significant step in the right direction to increase testing.”

Public Health
is scheduling appointments with frontline workers for the foreseeable
future while the testing efforts have ramped up. Phase 2 frontline
workers and a percentage of construction workers are currently being
scheduled for screenings. HSA, Public Health and the Chief Medical
Officer are working together to prioritise persons or business who
are deemed essential frontline workers.

“There are
thousands of individuals that are deemed frontline workers, so it
will take a few weeks to get through the majority. We understand
there is anxiety in the general population to be tested so we making
all efforts to screen as many eligible persons as possible,” said
Dr Samuel Williams-Rodriguez, Medical Officer of Health. “In
addition to the drive through screening, members from Public Health
are also conducting screenings on-site for larger businesses, which
enables employees to be swabbed without having to leave the
workplace.”

Persons who
are screened for COVID-19 will receive results through the online
MyHSA Patient Portal, which provides a secure method to accessing lab
results. Public Health will continue to contact anyone who tests
positive for COVID by phone. All persons screened will be provided a
free patient portal account.

As the COVID
pandemic is a national crisis, HSA is working collectively with the
local private hospitals in an effort to screen as many essential
workers as possible.

“We are
currently working with Doctors Hospital by sending them various
businesses to be screened in an effort to ensure they maximize their
testing capacity,” said Dr Samuel Williams-Rodriguez, Medical
Officer of Health. “Health City Cayman Islands will be an
additional screening site for essential workers in the Eastern
Districts.”

All screening
facilities are by appointment only and businesses will be contacted
by Public Health for specific appointment times.

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Photos Caption: Health Services Authority’s COVID-19 Screening Tents at the Cayman Islands Hospital