The mobile sample collection units, launched on Monday by the Ministry of Public Health in Region Four, have been set up to take services for COVID-19 to residents and not have them go to a hospital.
During the launching of those mobile units at Georgetown, Herstelling on the East Bank of Demerara and Paradise, East Coast Demerara, it was stressed that the ministry cannot have persons going to the hospitals while it has been promoting the practices of social and physical distancing. Dr. Leston Payne, the Deputy at the Health Emergency Operating Centre, who outlined how the units work, explained that when patients enter they will be taken to a waiting area, where they would be met by a triage nurse and then given an order when to be directed to another triage area where their vitals, name and other biodata will be taken. The patients will then move to another area, where they will be questioned to gauge if they will be a candidate suitable for testing. If a determination is made, the persons will be directed to a secondary screening area, where a sample will be taken from them for testing. Dr. Payne noted that the entire process should not take more than 5 to 10 minutes per patient.