THE COVID-19 TESTING PROCESS Collection and Swabbing (Collection Centres) To locate a collection site, the VCHA listed seven potential collection centres across the region. These centres operated on a first-come, first-served basis . The swabbing that occurred at each collection centre involved the insertion of a long and skinny swab into the nose and mouth to test for viral cells. This process was relatively quick and was effective in gathering the necessary data. One swab was used per patient and was stored in its own vial, which was filled with a preservative fluid. This fluid removed the viral cells from the swab and preserved them for later testing. Initially, in March, the swab supply was scarce, as the VCHA could only access 5,000 per day. However, in April, hospitals acquired alternative sources, giving the VCHA access to 7,000 swabs per day. At each centre, five full-time employees could each test 19 patients per hour. Henry, the provincial health officer, argued that mass testing was an ineffective strategy to slow transmission of COVID-19 because it had a false-negative rate as high as 30 per cent in people who were infected but did not show symptoms." As a result, collection centres reduced the number of tests per day and only tested individuals with symptoms. The VCHA's collection centres experienced different demand levels, and, due to limited capacity and testing supplies, may have had to turn down individuals looking to be tested. Therefore, there was the potential for among between the test centres to improve capacity in this step. Processing and Bar-Coding COVID-19 swabs gathered from the collection sites were transported to St. Paul's lab for processing and bar-coding. The vials were unloaded from trucks and then stored in a cooling-regulated fridge until processing started. All specimens were to be processed in preparation for genetic extraction. Once the specimens were ready, they were processed by machines at a constant rate. The lab operated 24 hours a day, every day, in three eight-hour shifts (with an hour break), where each shift had three full-time technicians working to individually bar-code the samples. Each technician could complete one sample in 0.4 minutes, excluding transport time between the fridge and the cart. This process was carefully completed, as cross-contamination due to sample mislabelling would have had adverse consequences. Genetic Extraction After the samples had been bar-coded, the vials were transported via cart to be genetically extracted. In this stage, all liquid from the COVID-19 swab vials was extracted to isolate the ribonucleic acid (RNA). This step was largely dependent on the availability of COVID-19 kits and the chemical reagents needed to test the RNA. This stage was carried out in the same lab, under the same hours. Six full-time doctors were tasked with isolating RNA from COVID-19 genetic extraction kits. These doctors generally did not work in shifts, as there was a shortage of experienced doctors. Therefore, each full-time doctor had a 10-hour workday, with a 1.5-hour break. On average, it took 0.6 minutes to complete one sample per technician. These kits included several chemical reagents that were needed for accurate extraction. Given that COVID-19 testing had exploded across the globe, these tests had become increasingly unavailable. The complexity of these kits also made it difficult for BC Health to locate alternative solutions (as recommended by Health Canada) within the given time frame. BC Health had made an effort to reallocate the testing kits based on need, but the demand exceeded the supply. Technicians only had access to 3,000 kits per day, a supply that could have decreased if the cases continued to rise in other RHAs. As a result, there was a significant difference between how many tests the doctors could complete and how many tests they could complete given the supply constraint. Amplification Once the RNA had been extracted, the samples were transferred to the amplification stage. This stage occurred in the same lab at St. Paul's, which helped concentrate the testing and its exposure to other variants. In this stage, a polymerase chain reaction test was conducted to search for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 strain. Once located, it was then copied and amplified using a machine until it could be detected. This process required two main types of chemicals transcriptase, which was used to convert RNA to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), and primers, which were typically two reagents that matched the DNA with the genetic material and latched onto the virus'$ RNA, if applicable. The two reagents needed were provided in kits, which were allocated by the PHSA. The DNA was then processed through an additional machine and run through both hot and cold temperatures to amplify the virus's genetic material in the sample.through an additional machine and run through both hot and cold temperatures to amplify the virus's genetic material in the sample. This step operated with seven full-time technicians who completed eight-hour workdays with a one-hour break. These technicians used kits to complete this process and to ensure no cross-contamination. Each technician could load and process 1,000 samples per shift. However, there were only 6,000 kits allocated for use per day. If more cases were required, each health authority would need to send a request to the PHSA. As the VCHA was one of the largest health authorities, Scott was confident in acquiring more kits. Counting Following the amplification step, the DNA was carefully counted by a second expert to determine the cycle's genetic material. If the material appeared over a dozen times, the patient tested positive. However, if the material appeared less frequently, the patient was not definitively positive for COVID-19. Although this step was relatively simple, each technician carefully recorded their findings to avoid false-positive results. The counting process operated almost simultaneously with the amplification process, and thus operated for three shifts, where each shift was assigned three full-time technicians. Shifts ran on an eight-hour workday (with a one-hour break), with each technician counting at a rate of 0.5 minutes per sample. Reporting Once the sample had been determined to be positive or negative, the information was recorded and reported through a communication database called Ploverb. This system gathered all testing data throughout the province, One full-time employee per shift completed this step. This reporting step took place within St. Paul's lab; it was also subject to its hours, with three eight-hour shifts with a one-hour break. Each employee took approximately 0.2 minutes to input one dataset".Use this to answer,In march ,what was the testing capacity utilization at each step?

In march , what was the testing capacity utilization at each step?

EXHIBIT 2: TOTAL COVID-19 CASES IN CANADA EXHIBIT 7: COLLECTION CENTRES EXHIBIT 8: TESTING PROCESS SUMMARY * 35 employees across all seven collection centres