Coronavirus: inside new high-speed DPI testing centre on Dubai-Abu Dhabi border

New system of 18 cabins allows drivers to get Dh50 finger-prick blood test in minutes as they remain in their cars

Medical staff speak to drivers before they take a prick of blood from their finger that can rapidly be scanned for signs of the virus. All photos by Leslie Pableo for The National

Police direct a long line of vehicles waiting for the rapid test at the Dubai-Abu Dhabi border

Many commuters are expected to use the quick Dh50 to enter Abu Dhabi instead of undergoing a PCR nasal swab test, which costs about Dh150 in a private clinic

A medic takes a drop of blood from a commuter

A medic takes a drop of blood from a commuter

Medical staff use a laser scanning technique called DPI to look for signs that the body has generated antibodies to fight off a virus

Medical staff use a laser scanning technique called DPI to look for signs that the body has generated antibodies to fight off a virus

A medic takes a drop of blood from a commuter

Eighteen stations can handle 36 vehicles at any one time. The process takes several minutes to show a result

Although the DPI test does not specifically look for Covid-19, it quickly identifies whether someone may be ill

Drivers line up to be tested on Al Faya Road just off the E11 highway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi

The company that runs the service for the government said it should save drivers time and money

Drivers line up to be tested on Al Faya Road just off the E11 highway between Dubai and Abu Dhabi

A new system to test commuters for Covid-19 before they enter Abu Dhabi is set to cut queues and save drivers time and money.

Tamouh Healthcare said its network of testing cabins unveiled on Saturday will allow drivers to be tested by a medic as they remain in their car.

Eighteen drive-through stations have replaced a large tent that was set up in the summer.

Anyone entering Abu Dhabi must produce a negative test result.

The cabins are in Al Faya Road, at a turn-off from the E11 Dubai-Abu Dhabi motorway, near Ghantoot village

“This will [help] to ease the flow of traffic entering the emirate and will meet the screening needs of the public,” said Abdullah Al Rashdi, a spokesman for the healthcare company.

“We can and do meet the needs of the same amount of visitors that we were receiving at Ghantoot,” he said.

Medics use a method called diffractive phase interferometry, which uses a laser to scan a small sample of blood for signs that the body is fighting a virus.

In contrast to the more thorough PCR nasal swab, which can take a day to return results, the DPI is ready within minutes.

The results are valid for 72 hours, meaning one test would be enough to commute on two or three successive days.

The Dh50 test is cheaper than a PCR test, which typically costs Dh85 in a government medical centre or Dh150 at private hospitals.

The 18 stations can cater to 36 cars at any one time.

Open 24 hours per day, they are staffed by 250 personnel who were previously at the Ghantoot tent.

There are booths on both directions of the motorway.

This would allow a driver to get tested on the way home to Dubai in the evening and not have to queue to return to Abu Dhabi the next morning.

“It is a better service and the location is ideal for the public," Mr Al Rashdi, whose company runs the service for the government.

He said there are plans to open a smaller DPI testing centre in Al Bahia, near Deerfields Mall on the approach road to Abu Dhabi city.