We also asked the Director of Health Services how the Ministry of
Health hopes to manage doing dozens of varied types of COVID 19 tests
daily when the airport re-opens. Our information suggests that even
keeping up with the testing regimen for repatriates has been somewhat
of a challenge.
We have heard stories of extended delays in getting tests returned to
those repatriates, and also of samples getting lost in the system. We
asked about that today:
Jules Vasquez
"A lot the success of this plan is contingent upon basically administering
and managing a large number of test simultaneously but we know that the
system as it's working right now, is far less than ideal, we have received
reports from Dangriga that the Belizeans who famously escaped in the
quarantine in the Chiste Garcia stadium, yes they were tracked down
eventually, they took them in for tests in the Dangriga hospital, now we
are told that there was some mix-up and the Dangriga hospital has lost the
tests or mixed up the tests and so now, these people have to be tracked
down again to take another test because of this mix up. However, how can we
have confidence going forward in a testing regime, which will have to be
high volume, high intensity, high output when even with these everyday
testing situations, there are significant flubs?"
Dr. Marvin Manzanero - Director of Health Services
"I am aware of the situation in Dangriga, those persons have been swabbed
again and those samples are on their way to central medical lab and it can
be with labelling not necessarily the technique."
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister of Belize
"The difference is that the tests we're currently doing, rely exclusively
on the standard PCR methodology and so, samples have to be obtained and
they have to be transported to the lab and then all sort of things can go
wrong. All the testing of people on the incoming flights after the PGIA is
reopened, will be done at the airport, including the PCR tests which are
rapid PCR tests, as opposed to the standard PCR tests and so they are done
right there, I told you about what Dr. Goff is doing with the BACC, to
ensure that there are enough testing booths, we have the machines there,
there is no question of samples being lost in transmission. Snafus there
will be, we know that, that's inevitable in terms of human endeavour but
those kinds of snafus that you're talking about I think are not really in
the offing in respect to the fact that everything will be done at the
airport in real time."
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