Workers who tested NZ's first Covid-19 sample 'hidden figures' of pandemic

ESR uses manual extraction processes to test samples.
ESR
ESR uses manual extraction processes to test samples.

When the first sample arrived for testing, Lauren Jelley had to stop her hands from shaking. 

Having been a scientist for almost 20 years and the technical lead of ESR's virus identification reference laboratory, she's no stranger to testing samples. But this one was different. 

It was the first suspected Covid-19 sample collected in New Zealand. 

She wasn't nervous because of the virus she was handling - as soon as it's inactivated it can't infect other things. Instead, it was the mounting pressure and looming deadline that was stressful. All eyes were on her and the results the test produced.

Lauren Jelley, ESR's technical lead, leads an all-female team of researchers.
ESR
Lauren Jelley, ESR's technical lead, leads an all-female team of researchers.

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"All of New Zealand was waiting, holding their breath for those results, and so we wanted to get them out as quickly as possible.

"PCRs [polymerase chain reaction tests] sometimes don't work for various reasons... this couldn't stuff up, it had to work... otherwise you'd have to [tell] the prime minister 'sorry, you have nothing to say today because I stuffed up'."

The first four swabs and tests returned negative results. The country's first case was identified on February 28. ESR didn't run the sample, but Jelley and her team, located in Wellington, confirmed it. She said when they heard they were being sent a positive sample from Auckland, there was shock among the tight-knit team of five. 

ESR scientist preparing a polymerase chain reaction test as part of diagnostic laboratory testing for 2019 novel coronavirus.
ESR
ESR scientist preparing a polymerase chain reaction test as part of diagnostic laboratory testing for 2019 novel coronavirus.

"We knew it was positive, the sample, when it was coming down, I think the whole team was like 'oh wow, this is it, it's in New Zealand'."

After that, the stress and pressure eased as more labs came on board with increased testing capacity.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF
Stuff reporter Michael Hayward volunteered to take the Covid-19 test in Christchurch on Friday.

In the days, weeks and months since that day, the team has been kept busy and solely focused on Covid-19. Prior to this, their work spanned polio surveillance with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and influenza surveillance and testing. Usually, at this time of year they would be looking at dengue fever and zika virus, but the lack of international travel has meant there are no samples.

Usually, in the height of the influenza season, they would only test around 100 samples per day, but just the other day they performed 357.

ESR's senior technician Jessica Danielewicz works on a Covid-19 sample.
ESR
ESR's senior technician Jessica Danielewicz works on a Covid-19 sample.

"[That's] quite a big deal for us because it's a manual extraction process."

To date, the ESR team has tested 2200 samples. It's only a fraction of the total number of samples performed by labs across the country, because ESR uses manual testing methods whereas others use machines.

But the lab's focus has shifted away from testing samples, to growing the virus.

Using the positive samples they've collected over the months, the ESR team was looking ahead. Positive material is considered "precious" for ongoing research, and can be used for any potential vaccines that are being created. It's also used to help map out where the viruses in New Zealand originated through genome sequencing

At the beginning, the setup in the ESR lab was strict. All handling of the virus was done in a PC3 environment, despite recommendations from the WHO to operate in a downgraded PC2. This meant researchers had to wear tie-back suits, a Jupiter hood with a filter, and were required to shower every time they came out.

Since then, the safety procedures around handling the virus have eased. They work in a PC2 environment - everything is done in a biosafety class 2 cabinet, and they can wear their own clothes. But they chose to maintain several PC3 practices for the team's safety, such as being double gloved.

"Whatever has touched an original sample, that gets disinfected before it comes out.

"The more you learn about the virus, the more you can downgrade PPE until you're got a level that you're safe with."

Jelley praised her team's work for the success of the lab during the pandemic.

"You've heard the saying that for every successful man there's a strong woman standing beside him, well I've got [four] very strong females standing beside me, and we are such a successful team for that."

She called them the "hidden figures" of the pandemic.

ESR's clinical virology team. From left Jessica Danielewicz, Wendy Gunn, Jacqui Ralston, Lauren Jelley, and Judy Bocacao.
ESR
ESR's clinical virology team. From left Jessica Danielewicz, Wendy Gunn, Jacqui Ralston, Lauren Jelley, and Judy Bocacao.

"They never really get named and I think they're just an amazing team," she said.

They are Judy Bocacao​, Jacqui Ralston​, Wendy Gunn​ and Jessica Danielewicz​.

Their experience in this field meant New Zealand was prepared for the virus before the first swab was even taken. A committee formed in early January to start planning a response.

They decided to purchase the necessary equipment they would need, PPE, and even managed to secure a few testing kits in a matter of days. They didn't want a repeat of the 2009 swine flu pandemic where they ran out of gloves, Jelley explained. 

"We had all the skills, and we had all the equipment. We had all the PPE."

ESR researchers have tested 2200 Covid-19 samples.
ESR
ESR researchers have tested 2200 Covid-19 samples.

Three of her staffers had worked through the swine flu pandemic and were familiar with operating in PC3, so they started upskilling and training others. 

Throughout lockdown and alert level 3 the team has been working on a rotating roster - two days on, two days off. When Jelley isn't in the lab she's working at home and taking care of her two young children.

Since January, the virus has consumed her life, and now, almost every conversation she has involves the word 'coronavirus', even those with her 5- and 7-year-old children.

"You can't [escape it]. My two kids, they know everything about what I was doing, why I was working late hours, and that I was trying to find coronavirus."

But all the hard work and sacrifices have been worth it, because when the next pandemic hits, we'll be prepared, she said. 

"[With the] next pandemic, everyone will know what to do."

Stuff