Gaza health: laboratory swabs available sufficient for a few days

Gaza health: laboratory swabs available sufficient for a few days

The Dean of Mushtaha, Director General of Laboratories at the Ministry of Health in Gaza, said today, Thursday, that the available quantities of operational materials and laboratory swabs are sufficient for a few days, and then we will return to the problem of stopping again.

In radio statements, Mushtaha indicated that there is a severe shortage of swabs that collect samples and PCR, indicating that the laboratory needs materials that are sufficient for 2000 tests per day.

He said, "We may need larger quantities, and the World Health Organization has provided the central laboratory with about 16,000 swabs, sufficient for a few days."

He added, "The quantity currently available is sufficient for a week at best according to the daily used swabs, but if the rate of spread of the disease increases, we will have to reduce our operational capacity to 50% and the laboratory may stop completely later if the infections increase."

Mushtaha stated that the central laboratory is currently working around the clock to complete all necessary checks for patients, contacts and random surveys, which aim to discover infected foci early and work to treat them and prevent the spread of the disease within the community.

The General Director of Laboratories called on international and specialized agencies to support the central laboratory to provide the necessary needs to conduct Corona tests urgently.