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One of the biggest hurdles in dealing with the Coronavirus has been adequate means of testing possible COVID-19 patients. That has become abundantly clear in the United States of America where COVID-19 testing procedures have been highly unreliable. When the virus first started to spread across the US, the White House promised that by the first week of March more than 1 million Americans would have access to proper testing, a milestone that was not reached until the end of the month. In other parts of the world, it has not so much been about getting COVID-19 tests, but getting the patients to test sites. In Ghana, patient samples need to be tested at a medical center in the capital, Accra. The majority of citizens needing testing live hours from the capital. However, Ghana has had an incredible system in place to overcome such scenarios, drones.

In 2016 the San Fransisco, CA drone company Zipline began delivering medical supplies between clinics in Ghana. Their first distribution center was in Muhanga and could transport blood, platelets, frozen plasma, medications, and vaccines to patients who had no access to large hospitals. By 2019, Zipline had opened four distribution centers that receive and send out drones daily carrying life saving medical materials. A doctor, technician, or nurse at a local medical clinic communicates by text messages, apps like WhatsApp, or over a designated communication portal stating if they have samples to be picked up or if they are awaiting sample delivery. They then get a confirmation message and a drone flight is scheduled.

The distribution centers serves as a warehouse for the medical supplies and a drone depot. They drones make deliveries to clinics within 50 miles under 45 minutes. All flight paths and drop off locations are predetermined. Within minutes of receiving an order, a pharmacist or technician prepares the package in the distribution center. All medical supplies are housed in packages that are temperature controlled and padded for protection. The package is then attached to a drone that is launched and flown to the designated coordinates. Once there, the drone releases the package that has a parachute attached to it. The package safely glides down to the drop off point and the drone circles around to return to the distribution center for another flight. If a center has a sample to be picked up the process is very similar. The clinics are supplied with the proper packing materials and pick a time to have a drone meet them at the drop off point. The drone arrives promptly, and a representative from the clinic attaches the package to the drone. The drone then returns to the distribution center and the package gets routed to the next appropriate location.

Using this system Ghana has been able to ensure that people in rural areas are still receiving COVID-19 testing even if they cannot get to the testing location. Bismark Sarkodie, the Municipal Director of Health Services for one such region, was able to safely determine a plan of action for a group of workers he had quarantined. When three workers at a construction camp tested positive for COVID-19, Bismark made the tough decision to quarantine all 244 of the workers at the site. These workers would have gone home to villages scattered throughout the region, potentially causing a wide spread of the virus. He did not feel it would be safe to release these people until they had all been tested. But with the workers quarantined more than two hours from Accra this would not have been possible if Zipline wasn’t there to assist.

Over the course of one day, all 244 individuals submitted samples that were then packaged and escorted by a drone along the chain of distribution centers until reaching the testing center in Accra. Only two days later a text message was sent revealing that all of the collected samples came back negative for COVID-19. The workers could go home knowing that they would not be risking the health of any of their loved ones. Bismark was relieved that the process was so efficient. “Testing is the most important thing,” he said, “and whatever it takes to make it faster, makes it better.” These drones are cutting down the spread of the disease by ensuring people are getting tested in a timely manner.

Currently Zipline is the only company offering a program like this and they have successfully delivered over 70,000 samples to be tested within days rather than weeks. Zipline CEO Keller Rinaudo says that for now they are going to continue concentrating their efforts in Ghana where they have a proven model in place. But as they announced on Twitter, “We’re an American company, and we want to help our country as well. Ready to serve as soon as we get the green light.” With Rinaudo going on to say, “Zipline is already scaled in other countries, and we’re standing by, ready to help the United States meet the challenge of #COVID-19.” The problem is that logistical complications have been prohibiting true drone deliveries in the United States for a long time now.

It’s possible that a need for speeding up COVID-19 testing will also speed up the logistical issues blocking drone deliveries. This crisis might just be the push the FAA needs to come up with a working solution. By no means is the airspace in the United States like the airspace in Ghana. That is one of the reasons Zipline’s program works so well there where flying drones is logistically safer. But as Rinaudo pointed out, “Using contactless drone delivery to transport COVID-19 test samples will allow the government to more quickly respond to the pandemic and help save lives.” Right now, getting people tested and saving lives is one of the most important missions our government has.

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