On a regular weekday, the blue sky above Europe's largest sea-port is usually filled with aeroplanes. But compared with last year, Rotterdam The Hague Airport lost around 75 percent of its two million passengers. 

Usually, the vast parking lots around the terminal are crowded, but they now sit empty. The airport and the regional health authority (GGD) have now decided to join forces, transforming the vacant space into a COVID-19 testing facility.

The international airport is just one of seven extra-large sites being built now around the country. Each site can facilitate PCR tests, while rapid tests will soon be added as well, meaning that patients will receive their test results within two hours or less.

Saskia Baas manages the project. As the GGD's general director in the Rotterdam Region, she's responsible for the public health of its 1.3 million inhabitants. 

"The government took the initiative, but we are in charge of the construction of the center," she says. "They gave me carte blanche to do what it takes."

The two white temporary structures at the airport are taking form. Workers are installing numerous booths, the IT infrastructure is almost in place, and the routing has been laid out: the people leaving the center will never have to cross people coming in. 

"The whole testing process from entry to exit won't take longer than three minutes," says Baas. When fully operational, this giant COVID-19 testing facility will be able to receive up to 10,000 people a day.

Until now, the GGDs and the hospitals have administered the tests nationwide. Now, the construction of the sites is a public-private partnership. Businesses are building the infrastructure and provide the workforce. In the start-up phase, the defense ministry will deploy military personnel to man the test lanes, but after a few weeks, the military will be relieved by the health staff – recruitment is in full swing. 

"We are hiring a lot of people," says Baas. "Medical staff of course, but also project managers, HR, hostesses, you name it. Normally we are an organization of 100 people. Now with COVID-19, we employ about 1,000 people."

The first large-scale testing center in Groningen, in the north of the country, opened on Friday. The others will follow before the end of November. The standard test centers in the country will also expand their capacity. 

The XL test lanes will stay operational till next summer and are an essential weapon in the fight against COVID-19. But even if the spread of the virus has been contained, the XL centers can continue to function: as soon as a vaccine is available, the authorities say they'll transform the new infrastructure into mass vaccination sites.

Video editor: Riaz Jugon