GD Labs: Scaling Swab Testing During COVID-19

In early 2020, the rapid spread of COVID-19 across the world led the most highly affected countries, such as the United States and India, to focus on rapid testing and contact tracing to break the chain of transmission. By August 25, 2020, India had tested nearly 37 million cumulative COVID-19 samples as part of the government’s “Test, Track, Treat” initiative. The efficient allocation of collected swabs with saliva samples to appropriate testing labs had become an urgent operational requirement. The senior consultant of GD Labs was appointed officer on special duty by the State Government of Chhattisgarh to devise a plan for the optimal allocation of swabs to government and private labs across the state. He decided to roll out a pilot study for two districts that had six labs—both government and private. The task required access to extensive data on the collection of swabs with saliva samples, previous backlogs, locations of labs, and the maximum capacity per lab. The goal of the project was to maximize the allocation of swabs for testing within budget constraints.