The arrival of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) test kits to Guyana has been delayed because of the shuttering of international airports, Health Minister Volda Lawrence says.
She told the media today that all the supplies needed to fight COVID-19 are currently in great demand globally, however, when the Ministry of Health began putting together its programme to fight the disease, funds were released for the acquisition of those kits. The procurement process was initiated way in advance, she said.
“We are going to have a large number of kits arriving in the country, it should’ve been here within the last couple of days. We expect it in a few days. I was made to understand that the delay has to do with many of the countries closing their ports and their airspaces and so on, but we’ll be having enough test-kits, we have enough supplies to be able to address the situation,” the minister assured.
Lawrence reminded that the National Reference Laboratory is the only institution that has the expertise and equipment to conduct tests.
