Mozambique moving to decentralise COVID-19 testing; “main limitation is the scarcity of WHO-approved tests, because of competition”

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Mozambique moving to decentralise COVID-19 testing; “main limitation is the scarcity of WHO-approved tests, because of competition”

1:58 CAT | 05 May 2020

The National Institute of Health, in Marracuene, Maputo province. [Google Maps]

Mozambique will move forward with the decentralisation of Covid-19 testing, in the hope of delivering results more quickly throughout the territory.

Currently, testing is only done at the National Health Institute Laboratory in Marracuene, on the outskirts of Maputo, and it takes at least 24 hours to obtain results.

“We have the testing decentralisation plan underway, but at the moment the main limitation is the scarcity of World Health Organisation-approved tests, because of competition,” director of Health Survey and Observation Sérgio Chicumbe said at a briefing to update numbers on Covid-19 in Mozambique.

The laboratory has the capacity to test 600 samples a day, although the “quality dynamics required in testing limit the work of the Ministry of Health technicians”, Chicumbe explained.

“We are talking about samples collected in different parts of the country which then go to Maputo [province]. There are specific transport conditions for this process, and all of this limits the work. That is why we have a plan to decentralise testing,” he added.

In total, 2,598 suspected cases have been tested in Mozambique, 132 in the last 24 hours.

All tests conducted in the last 24 hours came back negative for the new coronavirus, leaving the total number of recorded cases at 80, of which 72 were local and eight imported. There is as yet no record of fatalities, and 19 people are reported by the authorities to have “fully recovered”.

Mozambique is under state of emergency regulations since April 1st and until the end of May, with entertainment facilities closed and all types of events and meetings banned. The entire population is recommended to stay at home unless they have work or other essential reasons for leaving.

Public transport carrying capacity has been limited, in stark contrast with the usual overcrowding, and face masks are mandatory on all public transport. Schools are closed and the issuing of entry visas suspended.

Source: Lusa