First-ever procurement of African-made HIV treatment for Mozambique
Fighting fake Covid-19 tests: Barcode system begins trials at Maputo borders next week – report
6:16 CAT | 16 Oct 2020
Picture: Noticias
The Ministry of Health is developing a system for real-time verification of Covid-19 test certificates, a measure aimed at combating counterfeiting, a source from the National Institute of Health (INS) said on Thursday (15-10).
The Covid-19 test certificates mandatory for border crossing will now have a barcode which can be read by a mobile phone or other device, allowing immediate verification of their authenticity.
“The ministry is currently in the final stages of designing a system which codes results using a barcode,” INS Deputy Director Eduardo Samo Gudo said.
The system, which is due to be implemented soon, will be trialled at border posts in Maputo province next week, he said.
“We are going to use coding with a very complex algorithm. It would take a genius to falsify (the test); it would probably take months and even years to find out what the algorithm is,” he said.
On 6 October, the authorities reported the sale of false Covid-19 test certificates at the Ressano Garcia border post, only days after its reopening.
The busiest border post in Mozambique, Ressano reopened to the public on 1 October, after six months’ restriction to goods-only traffic. The transit of people is conditional on the presentation of a negative Covid-19 test take within the previous 72 hours.
“The Ministry of Health, together with other authorities, is still investigating the matter of fake Covid-19 tests,” Samo Gudo concluded.
Source: Noticias
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