Coronavirus: No backlog at Noguchi

There is no backlog of tests on coronavirus to be conducted at the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Medical Research (NMIMR), the Head of Virology has disclosed.

All the backlogs have been cleared, he said.

Professor William Ampofo made this known at the Ministry of Information’s Covid-19 update on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

He, however, indicated that the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR), one of the major testing laboratories, have about 1,982 samples awaiting testing.

Ghana’s vigorous testing regime has been commended as it ranks second on the African continent.

So far, over 130,000 tests have been conducted with 2,719 cases confirmed nationwide. This represents 2.01 per cent in terms of the positivity rate.

Prof Ampofo noted: “We have expanded testing beyond Accra and Kumasi”.

He gave a firm assurance that by the end of May, testing for coronavirus will be conducted nearly in every region of the country.

So far, he indicated, the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) in Ho, the Volta Region capital, the Public Reference Health Laboratory in Tamale, the Northern Region capital, and the Veterinary Services Department in Takoradi, the Western Region capital, have been given the green light to start testing for Covid-19.

Prof. Ampofo, who coordinates the country’s activities as regards testing, assured that efforts have been put in place to have rapid diagnostics tests (RDTs) as well.

He said with the recent development, particularly KCCR’s backlog, Ghana would have no samples to test by Thursday unless suspected cases are reported.