Airport Nail Salons Offer to Provide Coronavirus Testing

A manicure at an airport nail salon might help you stay sane during a flight delay, but in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, XpresSpa wants COVID-19 tests to be the only service on its spa menus.

The company is in early discussions to turn all of its 46 U.S. airport locations into COVID-19 testing sites for airport staff, flight crews, and passengers. According to a press release from XpresSpa, the company has reached out to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and private labs across the country to discuss the initiative.

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”We believe we can help alleviate some of the long waits for travelers entering the US but we can also be available to test TSA employees, pilots, flight attendants, and other airport personnel who are on the front lines helping to keep our nation safe," Doug Satzman, XpresSpa, chief executive officer said in a statement.

Because XpresSpa is a health and wellness company, many of its employees are state licensed, and this certification includes disease containment training. Since the company's employees work inside airport terminals, they are also TSA approved, so they can quickly be trained to work on the test sites.

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"As the largest operator of health and wellness spas located within these US point of entry airports, we believe our facilities could be of great utility in helping our government test people as quickly as possible," Satzman said. "We will work closely with local airport authorities on all plans. While we cannot ensure that an arrangement will ultimately be consummated, we remain optimistic that we can play a vital role with some of these entities.”

However, one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of XpresSpa being able to turn its airport spas into COVID-19 test sites is the shortage of available tests.

The coronavirus pandemic is unfolding in real time, and guidelines change by the minute. We promise to give you the latest information at time of publishing, but please refer to the CDC and WHO for updates.