Head of Biotechnology Department of the University for Development Studies, UDS, Nyankpala campus, Dr Nelson Opoku has stated that their facility has the capacity to test for Covid-19 in the country.
As at now, there are only two known centres(Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research ) in Ghana but the country needs rapid testinf to be able to control the spread of the pandemic in the country.
In an interview, Dr Nelson Opoku said:” the department has the human resource and expertise to test for COVID-19, however, we need fifty thousand dollars to procure some equipment and expand the current laboratory to enable us undertake the tests”.
With this, the department is therefore appealing to government, benevolent individuals and organizations to support the Department to procure the equipment to serve the northern sector of the country.
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Meanwhile , government said it is awaiting the results of more than 15000 people who have been tested for the Coronavirus disease in its enhanced testing programme which will determine whether or not the two weeks partial lockdown announced last week will be extended.
In a related development,the Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLs) advised government to resource other teaching centres to test suspected cases for Covid-19 in the country rather than focusing on the two specialized centres.
The Association argued that the two centres which are the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research and the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research might not be able to contain other cases of the latest pandemic if it spreads rapidly in the country.
READ ALSO:Gov’t begin processes to expand Covid-19 testing centres
