Lab scientists lament inadequate infrastructure as 14 of their colleagues test positive for coronavirus

Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists, the sole professional body for medical lab scientists in Ghana, says inadequate infrastructure puts its members at risk in their line of work.

The Association’s spokesperson, Dennis Gyesi Adu, has revealed that at least 14 of its members have tested positive for the COVID-19 in their line work as a result of poor infrastructure.

“We can count about 14 of our lab professionals across the country that are infected. This happens in the line of their duty because samples come into the laboratory routinely. We have had challenges with some of these things happening where samples will slip through before later, they even realize that this was a COVID suspected patient,” he told CITI FM recently.

In a statement released on May 29, 2020, the Association noted that the capacity of medical laboratories should be built immediately across the country to provide routine and additional complementary testing – such as Malaria diagnosis, liver function tests and other tests of importance – to help the management of COVID-19 in hospitals across the country.

“Samples of COVID-19 patients are to be handled in facilities capable of handling Biosafety Level 2 pathogens. Most of the laboratories in Ghana lack these infrastructures,” the statement further reads.

The Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists also urged government to engage the services of qualified unemployed professionals to support the fight against the coronavirus in Ghana.

President Nana Akufo-Addo on Sunday, May 31, 2020, during his 10th televised coronavirus update, eased restrictions on social gathering.

Schools have been allowed to resume for final year students in Senior High School (SHS) and Junior High School (JHS) but under strict adherence to anti-Coronavirus measures.

Churches and mosques have also gotten the greenling to open one hour per service with 100 people in attendance during each period. Registers of names and contact details of all worshippers would also have to be made available for monitoring whilst handwashing facilities and sanitisers must be provided at the various places of worship.



Attendees are to wear masks and observe social distancing.

Ghana’s coronavirus case count stands at 8,070 with 2,947 recoveries and 36 deaths.

The Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists had cautioned the President against easing of the restrictions in the statement, which is published below.