Covid-19 diagnostic tests may be made available to the private sector, Lo Iek Long, medical director of Centro Hospitalar Conde de São Januário announced during the press conference on Sunday.
A private company is said to be preparing to launch a nucleic acid detection testing service as a third-party service for other residents.
“I have information that there are private companies that are preparing to provide the nucleic acid testing service,” Lo said briefly, noting that these plans are still at an early stage.
The Health Bureau (SSM) will provide appropriate assistance in this regard.
Lo added that health authorities currently have enough testing reagents to run more than 10,000 tests, which is enough for the next two months.
Currently, the SSM uses nucleic acid detection kits to test whether a person has the virus. The SSM is still purchasing testing kits from Shanghai.
People in quarantine must undergo nasopharyngeal swab tests.
Aside from those who have undergone the mandatory 14-day quarantine, a total of 392 casino shuttle bus drivers also underwent Covid-19 testing in February, as they were considered to have been in direct contact with tourists. All of them tested negative.
Earlier this month, Lo said that it was not “meaningful” for the government to carry out population-wide testing for Covid-19. Lo said that the bureau does not expect infection to spread in the local community.
The medical director also said that previously said that widespread testing for the disease would require huge amounts of manpower and resources.
Currently, the city has 45 confirmed Covid-19 patients, of which 13 have already been discharged from hospital. LV
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