With clenched fists thrust into the air, beaming smiles, and high-fives, white-coated lab technicians at Northeastern on Tuesday celebrated a landmark achievement in the university’s efforts to promote safety during the pandemic—the processing of the one millionth coronavirus nasal swab test.

At Northeastern’s state-of-the-art Life Sciences Testing Center in Burlington, Massachusetts, staff shared in the thrill of the accomplishment with confetti poppers and a chocolate sheet cake that had “One Million Samples” written in icing. Numerical mylar balloons arranged in “1000000” hung from the ceiling.

“The testing center has been instrumental in keeping Northeastern open and safe,” said Jared Auclair, who oversees the testing facility. “Because of our stringent testing regime—every three days for students—we can catch those positive samples early.”

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