Sample results of COVID19 tests conducted by the various laboratories in the country will now be transmitted electronically to the Ghana Health Service as a barcode system is set it be introduced in the processing of samples.
This, according to the head of virology at Noguchi, Prof. William Ampofo, would reduce the time of sample collection and presentation of results within a period of 24hours.
Addressing a press briefing on Wednesday morning, Prof. Ampofo disclosed that samples will now have a bar code which containing the geographical location of where the sample was collected.
He says that code will be read and the sample results would be transmitted to the Ghana Health Service.
Prof. Ampofo says that “this will, therefore, shorten the time and we would be able to process many more samples more efficiently.”
This process, which is said to be facilitated by the Communications Ministry, will also help the Ghana Health Service in its updates on Ghana’s case count as their figures are “dependent on the rate of reports by the individual laboratories”
“So, having to accumulate all the data [from the laboratories] at a specific time point and then present to you. That is not directly equal to the rate of transmission. You would have to extrapolate back to the actual dates the samples were collected and that is the analysis currently they [GHS] are trying to do and that is why you will hear the mention of backlog. So once we are able to sort out the backlog, then they would be able to calculate the rate of infection and present data on incidents and help us understand how the spread has actually take place,” Prof. Ampofo explained.
Over 98,000 COVID19 samples now tested in Ghana
According to Prof. William Ampofo, the country has tested nearly 100,000 COVID19 samples.
He says that since President Akufo-Addo, on Sunday April 19, announced that Ghana has conducted about 68,500 samples, an additional 30,000 samples have been tested.
Prof. Ampofo says that a polling method that is being used by the laboratories is what is enhancing Ghana’s testing figures.
“When this samples arrive at the lab, we go through a process to enable us utilize the reagents in a very efficient manner. We simply poll the samples. What this means is, if you have 1,000 samples, you put them in polls of ten and therefore, you test them at a time. So in a short time, instead of testing 1,000 samples, you actually test 10,000 samples,” Prof. Ampofo explained
Ghana, having tested over 60,000 samples, is ranked number one in the continent in administering of tests per million people.
Meanwhile, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has shot up to 1,154 with 120 recoveries and nine deaths.
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Story by: Jeffrey Nyabor | www.universnewsroom.com