The Ministry of Public Health is working along with private health institutions to prepare them to test and handle cases of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The National Reference Laboratory, which comes under the Public Health Ministry, is the only facility in Guyana equipped and approved to test for the deadly virus.
Public Health Minister, Volda Lawrence said that the Cheif Medical Officer (CMO), Shamdeo Persaud has been tasked with working along with private health institutions “in terms of their capacity and what they intend to do for the near future”.
“We recognize that not every citizen will come to the public health sector for services. There are persons who prefer to go to the private sector. So we would want to know that they are also equipped; that they can be able to provide the best service to their clientele. So we are working with them,” Minister Lawrence said.
Pan-American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) Country Representative, Dr William Adu-Krow, said that it was his agency that helped the Guyana Government to set up the lab; emphasizing that the role of the health institution is to assist governments.
He, however, noted that private institutions can still get their systems up to speed by exploring standardization and working along with the health ministry.
“But for goods coming in from the UN (United Nations) side, it will always have to go to government establishments,” he reiterated.
