MOH to Ramp Up Testing; More Test Kits on the Way

Marvin Manzanero

The Ministry of Health says that it will step up its COVID-19 testing. Director of Health Services, Doctor Marvin Manzanero says that they are expanding their screening efforts as they cover the mapping exercise of the latest COVID-19 patients.  He noted that those who are tested will be re-tested to ensure that they are negative and if they have the virus, then appropriate measures are taken. Doctor Manzanero also explained that frontline workers will also be captured in this new wave of increased testing.

Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services

“Yesterday, when I checked, we had seven hundred and thirty-two tests that we could still do. And we are pending three thousand tests to come in. We had requested for fifteen thousand more tests that are pending are processed because you know just like tests, all the other items that are requested for COVID-19 response you will know there is a waiting list now. That is what is turning out to be a little bit of a head ache as we move along.   We have been getting lots of calls from people saying I think I need to be tested – and I think yesterday Prime Minister reiterated yesterday that we are going to scale up the testing and part of that entails testing any health care worker that is having the flu; testing every ten samples of any flue case that is showing up at the facility and random testing of frontline personnel.  You don’t also test all the contacts; you classify contacts into casual contact or close contacts and then you also stratify contacts into what is high, medium or low risks in your first exercise; because, well only two countries have the ability to test just about everybody. You will test primarily just those high risk persons. That doesn’t mean that if they get a negative result, they are in the clear. They have to go fourteen days into quarantine and then they will be checked fourteen days thereafter or of they develop any sign or symptom.”