The Ministry of Health and Social Development has joined forces with Eureka Medical Clinic to improve PCR testing capacity locally.
This was confirmed by the Ministry of Health in a media release issued recently, which said the ministry was working with the management of Eureka to bring their PCR testing capacity online in a safe and effective manner.
Acting Chief Medical Office (CMO) Dr. Ronald Georges said the ministry has had an initial discussion with Eureka Medical Clinic to have additional PCR capability available in the territory.
“We have reached out to the Pan-American Health Organization to provide the necessary support to ensure that the necessary biosafety and quality aspects are independently verified and are in place prior to the start of testing,” he said.
Dr. Georges further stated that these arrangements will improve local laboratory capacity by bringing additional support to the available PCR testing capability as the territory deals with the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to Dr. Georges, rapid antigen testing capability will form part of the national testing strategy. “The Ministry will therefore work with all local laboratories to ensure standardisation of reporting and testing methods,” he said.
The CMO further stated that the Department of Information Technology has been enlisted to develop and implement a solution to manage the national testing strategy, streamline and eliminate the current data issues that have been plaguing the system.
The rapid increase in positive cases in the BVI has resulted in persons having to wait beyond the usual 24 to 48 hours for their COVID-19 test results.
According to a recent media release from the Health Ministry, due to the testing lab being overwhelmed from the large volume of daily samples, results can take up to 72 hours to return to persons.