A New Testing Machine to be Procured

Pablo Marin

Though the number of active cases is now down to seven, there has been a persistent call for the Ministry of Health to begin using rapid testing kits in detecting COVID-19 among persons exhibiting flu-like symptoms.  Those tests, it is argued, will significantly reduce the time taken to determine the coronavirus status of persons; however, Minister of Health Pablo Marin contends that the results of those tests are unreliable.  According to Marin, a second testing machine is being procured, despite an existing capacity of two hundred tests being administered daily.

Pablo Marin, Minister of Health

“That rapid test cannot work, there is a lot of false negatives.  PAHO/WHO cannot confirm any lab or any test that we can say yes.  I had a meeting last week with PAHO and Central America, everybody is saying, you know what, just hold on on the rapid test, let’s hope that there is one of them that will be available soon, but as it is we are only doing the normal tests.”

Reporter

“So sir, with the number of testing equipment presently in country, how many people can we test?”

Pablo Marin

“We can test according to what they mentioned to us, up to two hundred tests per day.”

Reporter

“Per day for how many days?”

Pablo Marin

“We can go on, but we are trying to get a new machine for us to have two in-country so we can rest one and use the next one.”