PRESS RELEASE: Unilabs hits 380,000 Covid-19 tests, to double testing by mid-June

Geneva, 12 May 2020: Unilabs, the leading European diagnostic services provider, has completed more than 380,000 Covid-19 tests across its network, and is now delivering more than 100,000 tests a week, with plans to double that by mid-June.

Unilabs performs Covid-19 testing in Norway, Switzerland, France, Portugal, Slovakia, Czech Republic, the UAE, Spain, and Sweden.   

“Hitting this milestone is a proud moment for us, and I’d like to pay tribute to the efforts of our frontline staff and teams on the ground, who have worked day and night to get systems up and running, secure permits, and ramp up testing – and our procurement teams, who have secured the materials we need to keep moving,” said Michiel Boehmer, Unilabs President and COO.

Samples come in from hospitals and collection centres, and in some countries Unilabs uses “flying nurses” who take samples from patients in their homes. Currently, Unilabs also collects about 3,500 daily samples at 80 drive-through centres across the Unilabs network, with plans to add significant further capacity. This system minimises contact with other people, reducing the risk of infection for everyone – patients, medical professionals, and the general public.

In some markets, Unilabs is working on home testing kits that allow patients to perform tests in the safety of their own home. As well as testing for Covid-19 infections, Unilabs is working on antibody tests to identify Covid-19 patients who have recovered, and may thus have some immunity. Antibody testing will be rolled out once the tests are validated and approved by the relevant authorities in each country. 

Media contact:

Alistair Hammond, Director of Communications

e: Alistair.Hammond@unilabs.com

t: +44 771 773 0441

About Unilabs

Unilabs is one of Europe’s largest diagnostics companies. It offers a complete range of laboratory, pathology and imaging services for patients all around the world. With 12,700 employees across 150 imaging centres and 250 labs in 17 countries, we perform more than four million lab tests a week – saving lives every single day.