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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Health Ministry has launched the long awaited COVID-19 mobile laboratories.
The mobile labs were supposed to begin work some months back when they were donated but this was all in vain.
They couldn’t be launched due to lack of the Polymerase Chain Reaction-PCR machine that is used to detect bacteria and viruses.
The vans have spent the last three months parked at the Central Health Laboratory.
According to the Health Ministry, the mobile labs can test as many as 1600 samples daily.
The vehicles will be stationed at Elegu and Adjumani border points where there are no permanent structures and can’t allow for the installation of other testing equipment like Genexpert machine.
Dr. Henry Mwebesa, the Director General Health Services says the mobile labs have been stationed in areas where more positive cases have been detected in the last two months.
He says the mobile labs will help turn around the time for releasing the test results.
Health Minister, Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng says that the mobile labs can be used to test for a variety of other diseases like Ebola, adding that they will help reduce congestion at border points.
The mobile laboratories were donated by the EAC secretariat through the German Government. As of today, Uganda has reported 1,000 COVID-19 cases with 908 recorded recoveries.
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