Israel has launched a network of new 'contactless' roadside covid-19 testing booths which have zero contact between nurse and patient.

The country has offered to share the design, which is relatively cheap and easy to produce, with other countries as part of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

The booths, produced by healthcare companies together with civilian and military partners, provide an entirely sealed, sterile environment for the medic, and can be quickly disinfected between patients.

Tests are carried out using two rubber gloves which are attached to the outer wall with airtight seals. Results are processed in a matter of hours and reported directly via the patient’s electronic health record.

One booth, made by Leumit Health Services, is already available to the public in Ramat Gan

Another booth, produced by Maccabi Healthcare Services, is operational at a clinic in Jaffa

The development of the contactless testing centre, which is highly effective yet relatively simple and cheap to manufacture, took less than a week

'After proving itself as a safe and easy way to test patients with minimum risk, the booth we created is sparking national and international interest,' said Ran Sa'ar, CEO of Maccabi Healthcare Services, one of the firms behind the booth.

'We would be happy to share the design plans with any health organization worldwide in order to support our shared mission of fighting the covid-19 virus.'

The booth was designed to ensure zero exposure between the patient and the tester. It enables a sterile sampling process from the moment the patient begins the test to the transfer of the sample to the laboratory.

The development of the contactless testing centre, which is highly effective yet relatively simple and cheap to manufacture, took less than a week.

The innovative technology has been watched closely by governments around the world struggling to provide safe, effective and fast coronavirus tests on a mass scale to their citizens.

Israel has been one of the world leaders in its response to covid-19, enacting lockdown measures early on and introducing technological solutions to help fight the spread of the disease.

These have included the use of anti-terror phone tracking technology to trace people who have come into contact with covid patients and tell them to self-isolate before they experience symptoms.

In addition, hotels have been repurposed to cater for coronavirus patients, helping alleviate the strain on hospitals.

There have been just 140 deaths from covid-19 in the Jewish state, with 12,591 infections and 2,624 recoveries.

Dozens of regular test centres have already been set up in clinics across the country, as well as four mobile testing vehicles vehicles that patrol certain areas and take corona samples as needed. The booths will be an agile addition to this provision.

One booth, produced by Maccabi Healthcare Services, is already operational at a clinic in Jaffa. A second, made by Leumit Health Services in collaboration with the military, is available to the public in Ramat Gan.

The Maccabi booth, designed to ensure zero exposure between the patient and the tester

The Leumit healthcare professional is protected and test results are available in hours

A Leumit Health Services spokesman told MailOnline that the company planned to make 'at least 30' units to be rolled out in the coming weeks, while Maccabi said that the firm was planning to upscale production in response to demand.

'The booths are easy and fast to manufacture, so we can be agile,' he said.

Leumit Health Services developed its booth in collaboration with the Israel Defense Force (IDF) Technology and Logistics Division. Its results are made available within 24 hours.

Each unit has positive air pressure inside the compartment so that the tester does not need to wear PPE, which is valuable, cumbersome and time consuming.

'This is groundbreaking work in the global war against the virus,' said Dvora Hassid, the head of Maccabi's central operations.

'The development of the new sampling booth, led by engineer Itamar Padeh, was finished in less than a week and is a response to the urgent need for safe and efficient testing in Israel and worldwide.'

The Maccabi booth was created by Maccabi and IM Segev Industries, with help from the Manufacturers Association of Israel.

Dr Ron Tomer, President of the Manufacturers Association of Israel, said: 'Israeli industry is proud to be the initiator and partner in many projects as part of the efforts against covid-19.'