Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony yesterday said that properly trained staff and the right equipment are among requirements that need to be met by private labs in Guyana in order to be licensed to conduct Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests for COVID-19.
“In licensing a facility to be able to do PCR testing you will have to satisfy the Ministry of Health technical personnel that you have the equipment, you have the know-how, you have the staff to be able to do this thing in the right way,” Anthony said during a COVID-19 update, while listing specific laboratory requirements that have to be assessed by the ministry before licensing is done. “Whether you have the PCR machine, whether it’s working properly, whether you have the biohazard cabinet so you can do extraction of samples,” he noted.