NEWS & INFOs on Covid-19 testing
***Friday 5th March 2021***
Corona Tests for University Members are available and institutes can register for participation in the study
please contact: coronatest@uni-heidelberg.de or call +49 1525 7908378
Website for the University Coronatests is here
***Thursday 11 Feb. 2021***
Big News:
We now will test every Weekday: from Monday to Friday
For your convenience: we now have a publicly accessible Sample-Letterbox where you can drop your sample.
It is located inside the Building INF305, in the entrance area, at the wall facing the entrance of the UniShop (which is currently closed),
Samples can be dropped anytime, the letter box will be empteid every day at 10 am.
Stay tuned: some big News ahead!
***Sunday 3rd Jan. 2021***
Happy New Year!
Reopening of the teststation in January 2021:
In the first week of January, samples will be analysed on
Tuesday, 5th of January 2021
&
Thursday, 7th of January 2021
Starting with the week of the 11th of January 2021, we will restructure sample kit distribution and sample collection. Information will be available here soon.
***Tuesday 22nd Dec. 2020***
the Teststation is closing closing down for X-mas and New Year!
this was a busy year!
stay safe and healthy, and obey to the god of corona rules!!!!
Next testing days in 2021 are:
5th January 2021
7th January 2021
***Thursday 1st. Dec. 2020***
From now on the test station will fonly accept sample tubes that are contained in the new test kit. Old kits can be returned/exchanged.
***Thursday 25. Nov. 2020***
Summary of news
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testing continues, from Monday through Thursday
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PLEASE USE THE NEW TEST KITS (no old kits anymore) (the ones with the little bottle with the salt solution)
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new website: https://coronatest-hd.de
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last test of the year will be on 22nd December 2020
***Monday 23. Nov. 2020***
Last week was quite rough, but eventually the robot is running and the new web server starts to be functioning properly
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We will continue to test from Monday to Thursday
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old and new Testkits can be used
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we plan to switch to new kits from Monday 30. Nov.
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batches of new test kits can be obtained from INF345 as usual for participating institutions.
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Old kits can be exchanged.
***Monday 17. Nov. 2020***
We are changing the server from the old platform to the new one - such transitions can be rough, especially since the pandemic does not give us enough time to prepare everything perfectly - so my apologies if something is not working as it should - check back a bit later and we might already have fixed it.
General infos on our Covid-19 testing
ZMBH Corona Tests
The ZMBH is operating a Corona Test station based on testing saliva and gargling fluid that can be easily at home. Ths is a reliable source of material for the detection of the virus (1). Testing is done as part of a research project to establish saliva based Covid-19 testing methods based on isothermal RNA amplification, which we estabished early on during the pandemic as a valid alternative to qPCR based methods (2). Currenlty we are using a significantly improved version of this method. As part of this research project we are offering Covid-19 tests to different institution in order to obtain samples for our research (University of Heidelberg only).
How to participate
To participate, you need to have a test kit. These test kits are distributed to participating institutes only. How the kits are distributed inside an institute can vary from location to location.
Test kits are used to collect a saliva/gargling sample. Instructions are provided inside the test kit. A video can be found here. The collected saliva/gargling samples must be returned to the participating institutions (i.e. COS, ZMBH, etc). In your institution a person responsible for distributing the test kits is also responsible for collecting the samples. Samples are collected in dedicated sample collection boxes: A plastic box with a hole for insertion of the small tubes.
Samples are collected in your institution on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday (but NOT on Friday) until 10 am.
Samples can also be stored at room temperature (or 4°C) for 1-2 days, but it would be better (and faster) to return them on the day the samples is collected - the results will be available until approx. 6 pm in the evening.
Each test kit contains a unique 12 digit code. You need this number to register the test kit here (https://coronatest-hd.de). Registration is mandatory to retrieve the results. Please register in the morning after you have taken your sample.
Results of Testing
To retrieve the results, you need again the 12 digit code (keep the paper with the code).
For registration you need to provide your contact details. These will be encrypted by the server and only in case of a positive result they will be used by the Gesundheitsamt Rhein Neckar to contact you for contact tracing. Only the Gesundheitsamt can decipher the info.
In case of a positive test results, please contact us so that we can help you with the situation, since currently the Gesundheitsamt is overloaded with work. For this you can contact one of us directly (s.anders@zmbh.uni-heidelberg.de or m.knop@zmbh.uni-heidelberg.de) or you can call us using the phone number of the study:
01525-7908378 (either Simon Anders, Robin Burk or me will pick up the phone).
We guarantee full confidentiality. However, we might ask you to further participate in our study and to provide more saliva sample ....
Important note
Please be aware that a negative test result does not replace proper Covid-19 hygiene measures, i.e. social distancing and wearing a mask. Please read the information that you obtain with the test results very carefully.