Eureka Medical Laboratories (EML) has provided the National Public Health Reference Laboratory (NPHRL) with samples to be sent for testing to determine whether they include the new COVID-19 variants.
This was revealed by Minister of Health Dr. Frank Anthony during yesterday’s COVID-19 update.
Earlier this week, Anthony had said that the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) wrote to EML asking it for evidence to support its claim that it can detect and test for various strains of COVID-19.
Anthony disclosed yesterday that EML on Thursday sent in a few COVID-19 samples of the results to the NPHRL which will be assessed and processed after which it will be sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for genomic sequencing to determine whether the samples provided may be one of the new COVID-19 variants.
EML has said it has the capability to detect persons with COVID-19 infection through PCR testing, including the possibility of a positive PCR test for persons with the new strain of COVID 19.
It has stated that it does not have the capacity to conduct gene sequencing, which is the technology required to differentiate one type of COVID 19 strain from another as that technology is not yet available in Guyana.
