COVID-19: Pivotal role for Mick George Group
Local business provides complimentary package to support new COVID-19 testing facility in Cambridge
AS part of the UK Government’s announcement of a new five-pillar plan to boost testing for COVID-19, AstraZeneca, GSK and the University of Cambridge have formed a joint collaboration to take action to support this national effort.
A new laboratory which will be used for high-throughput COVID-19 screening tests and to explore the use of alternative chemical reagents for test kits in order to help overcome current supply shortages, is being set up at the University’s Anne McLaren Building.
Infrastructure works have already begun to supplement the initiative with local business Mick George Group playing a pivotal role in facilitating the projects commencement.
The construction specialists have offered to install critical access routes to the facility free of charge, in the form of a 110m long temporary pavement that will run from the site entrance of the Anne McLaren main drive, to Francis Crick Avenue.
Initially estimated to fulfil 1,000 to 2,000 tests per day, it is anticipated that the new coronavirus testing laboratory will process up to 30,000 per day at the peak of operations, contributing to the national target of 100,000 tests per day, as pledged by Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
Alongside this new testing facility, AstraZeneca and GSK are working together to provide process optimization support to the COVID-19 national testing centres in Milton Keynes, Alderley Park and Glasgow, providing expertise in automation and robotics to help the UK national testing system to continue to expand capacity over the coming weeks.
Michael George, managing director of Mick George Group, commented: ‘We continue to pay tribute to those working on the front lines of this pandemic, in the UK and globally. Defeating COVID-19 requires a collective effort from everyone, across multiple sectors, and we are committed to playing our part.’
