COVID-19 Screening Station Design for Semi-Outdoor Environments near Healthcare Facilities

Worldwide, healthcare institutions face acute challenges in responding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including the difficulty of protecting patients and staff unrelated to the virus from potentially infected people seeking the COVID-19 test.
An isolated facility solution allows hospitals to separate existing facilities and not disrupt general hospital operations and protect the affected operating medical staff and potentially infected patients from virus spread. This research aims to develop a COVID-19 screening station prototype by rationalizing existing solutions for virus testing facilities, adapting them into flexible modular units capable of suiting Thai hospitals regarding local conditions and budget limitations. Consultations with medical doctors and experts supported the design development, taking reference to stipulated patient treatment processes. A working, functional prototype screening station was installed for use and testing at a hospital. Research outcomes suggest that the proposed design solution for a modular screening station and the constructed prototype for semi-outdoor solutions are considered safe, operational, and suitable for implementation near healthcare facilities. As a feasible, low construction cost solution, offering a low risk of contamination, the modular and flexible structure of the COVID-19 screening station enables adaption to individual needs and functional requirements or cope with existing site conditions. A project-implementation review (PIR) documents project usage, operation, and function recording and improvement suggestions for development, with future work foreseeing its design implementation. The prototype solution's further developed results are to be implemented in various hospitals in Thailand within a short period. Funding for this research came from the Faculty of Architecture and Design (SoA+D) of King Mongkut Technical University Thonburi (KMUTT), supporting research in architecture and its application in Thai society.