Rapid Testing Used on International Flight

Marvin Manzanero

Last week, the Ministry of Health launched rapid testing in the north in the village of August Pine Ridge, Orange Walk. During that activity, some sixty-six persons were processed and within minutes, six tested positive using an SD BIOSENSOR Rapid Test. These rapid tests will be used by personnel on the ground when the airport reopens this Thursday, but even before then, last Friday, rapid tests were used on one of two flights that brought to the country a group of repatriates and deportees.

Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services

“We had indicated that we were going to be doing rapid testing and rapid test process, the SD BIOSENSOR, was used in August Pine Ridge last week Wednesday and that same day is when we were actually doing the validation of a third rapid test. That validation process has not been completed; should be completed later on today or tomorrow. So once we have completed that validation process, we should release the results of those rapid tests that we have. Understand that once the rapid test becomes part of a routine processing of samples for a specific population, we will be using a separate platform because the infographic is updated in real time for information gathered from the lab. And you would note that rapid testing is going to be field work for the most part so that you are not going to necessarily be receiving those results in real time. The rapid tests were also used on the first flight of two flights that arrived on Friday. The twenty plus passengers that arrived, all of them were negative upon arrival. The second flight that brought in repatriated Belizeans, which is one of the smallest groups that has arrived, those persons didn’t go through a rapid test; they went through a PCR test and those results should be out so that they would be able to leave and go finish the quarantine at home.”