If you've ever been seized by the urge to scream out of sheer frustration, well, what better way to do it than for a COVID-19 test? With the pandemic dominating global news headlines and most aspects of our lives for more than a year now, it is understandable that one might have some pent up anger.
But while it may not be acceptable to try deafening the person attempting to take a nose or throat swab from you, a Dutch inventor is giving many hope for a fun alternative. According to a Reuters report, Peter van Wees is working on a test that will require people to enter an airlocked cabin and scream or sing. And as they do so, an industrial air purifier collects the emitted particles to test for the virus.
While nothing has been said about it, we assume that your ability (or lack thereof) to hit the notes or your decibel will not be an issue. But even as most on social media seem to agree that this is a fun idea, there remains a healthy dose of skepticism.
"Not a scientist but wouldn't this require that you ventilate/disinfect the entire sound booth after each screaming? Also wouldn't direct breath similar to (alcoholic) breath analyzers be better for actual collection and better because there is a infrastructure for replacing pipes," queried one user.
"But if a person does indeed have COVID-19, the other participants of this chamber would be infected after getting in touch with the chamber, so would it be deeply cleaned for each use?" wondered a second.
"And there you were thinking it couldn't get any more dystopian," joked another.
Many however contend that the test, if it works, would be of big help to those who find the nasal swabs painful or fear it. As one user put it, "Put me in that box, then approach the door waving a big nasal swab and I will give you some screams".
Others want more information before taking this route. To this end there is now a debate about the time that different COVID-19 tests take to deliver the results and the pain that they each inflict on the test taker.
But for many, the feasibility was a secondary issue. "But...what if I just want to scream?" asked one user when others suggested alternatives to Van Wees' idea.
"Sign me up! I will happily do this therapy multiple times a day. Oh, it’s a Covid test? Well... as long as I still get to scream into the void, sure," remarked another.
"The test is just an added bonus. I have screams just waiting for my next solo drive," said a third.
