FedEx Stands Up Special Operation to Help Fight COVID-19
FedEx Express announced it stood up a special operation to help the U.S. government quickly move COVID-19 test specimens from more than 50 remote drive-thru testing centers at major retailers across 12 states. This critical mission, led by the White House, Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was a collaborative effort among retailers and healthcare companies to enable quick processing of COVID-19 test specimens to help prevent spread of the virus.
To ensure weekend support of this mission, FedEx Express dedicated 28 flight legs, as well as specialized pick-up and delivery operations. FedEx used its patented SenseAware® technology and monitoring to help safely transport the test specimens collected in select U.S. markets to 10 labs operated by Quest Diagnostics and other commercial labs, helping to ensure maximum visibility of the shipments while in transit, says a company press release. The Department of Health and Human Services aided in collecting, packaging and sealing test sample boxes with the SenseAware® devices before they were shipped via FedEx Express First Overnight with Priority Alert monitoring for delivery by 8 a.m. the next day.