Arcpoint Labs offers back-to-work screening and strategies

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Update: According to a company representative, Arcpoint Labs will no longer be offering workplace antigen vetting for COVID-19 in the coming weeks due to the Food and Drug Administration's retraction of the test for back-to-work screening last week. Under Centers for Disease Control guidelines, workers can be cleared to return to work after passing two molecular assay tests offered 24 hours apart; an antigen test is considered an immunoassay test. 

Greenville-based franchise Arcpoint Labs is equipping businesses across the country with tailored strategies to bring back employees without bringing back infection.

And as COVID-19 cases spike in Greenville County following the reopening of businesses across the state, Byron Berry, president of Arcpoint’s Greenville and Anderson labs, emphasized that implementing viral and antibody testing with social distancing guidelines remains paramount to keeping employees safe.

Berry also serves as the vice president of business development at Arcpoint’s franchise office while working directly with a number of local clients.

“I think it’s important now, because of the uptick we’ve seen here more recently, that business and their employees are strongly vigilant in following the guidelines they establish. That may seem, you know, a simple statement, but oftentimes implementation is a little harder,” Berry said, when asked about any specific guidance he would offer Upstate businesses. 

At Arcpoint’s roughly 100 locations across the country, the diagnostic testing franchise adds health screenings, viral PCR and antibody testing and social distancing guidelines to companies’ arsenals as they combat COVID-19 infection among returning workers. Instead of using pharyngeal swabs, Arcpoint uses less-intrusive nasal and throat swabs for viral tests available within roughly three to five business days.

“This isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach,” CEO John Constantine, said in a news release. “Each plan needs to be comprehensive and customized. Arcpoint labs can provide that through our national network of labs industry experts and trusted partners.”

The lab also offers a free back-to-work plan that highlights the most critical guidance offered by the Centers for Disease Control, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and pairs that guidance with information about different types of testing offered within various budget constraints.

Berry reiterated that setting a precedent for social distancing guidelines is just as important as carrying out testing at the workplace — especially in a state where most businesses have already opened their doors and are sliding back into normal operations.

“It’s certainly not too late. Now is the time to act,” he said. “And that’s what we’re trying to make everybody aware of.”