COVID-19: Info Minister Assures Of Additional Testing Lab

The government has begun processes to expand the number of COVID-19 testing facilities across the country to combat the pandemic.

The move is meant to facilitate speedy testing of COVID-19 contacts that have been traced so far.

Though the government has stepped up its contact tracing efforts to identify possible cases of COVID-19, the Noguchi Medical Research Institute and the Kumasi Center for Collaborative Research remain the only testing centres.

But speaking to Citi News, Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said the new testing centres when operationalized will enable the government to realize its target of testing over five thousand people within six weeks.

“What we have to do is to bring on board other labs that have similar facilities mostly used for other respiratory-related issues. I am informed that there is a third lab…which has been added. I think this lab is Ghana Reference Lab or so. There are a number of other labs across the country that have other PCR machines that can be used and they are going through the process of Nogcuchi to calibrate those machines that can assist us to ramp up our numbers.”

Since the outbreak of Coronavirus in Ghana, there have been calls on government to increasing its testing capacities by establishing more laboratories.

While the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR) has reported on tests of over 70 samples, the Noguchi Medical Research Institute has tested over 4,000 samples.

This has also become necessary due to the “enhanced contact tracing” by health authorities in some selected areas identified as COVID-19 hotspots.

Ghana’s COVID-19 cases currently stand at 204 with five deaths and three recoveries.

The number of regions reporting cases remains five (5)–Greater Accra, Ashanti, Northern, Upper West and Eastern.

The Greater Accra Region has most of the cases (183) followed by the Northern Region (10), Ashanti Region (9), Upper West Region (1) and Eastern Region (1).

--citinewsroom