Dominica is emerging as the first Caribbean country to test for Coronavirus after due trainings from the U.S. Centre for Disease Control (CDC), said Health Minister Dr. Irving McIntyre. The minister revealed that Dominica health specialists will undergo the required trainings on Thursday and Friday and the country will become the first country in the Caribbean to be able to test for the deadly Coronavirus after the training.
McIntyre disclosed that Barbados is also aiming to acquire the necessary expertise for testing for Coronavirus, but Dominica will beat them to it since the latter will be undergoing the training first. Trinidad and Tobago got testing kits for the disease on February 7 according to a statement released by their Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh.
“CARPHA Medical Microbiology Laboratory (CMML) is accepting specimens for diagnostic testing by molecular method,” the health ministry in Trinidad and Tobago had stated. “The turnaround time is 24-48 hours from receipt of the specimen at CMML.”
Dr. McIntyre stated that the Pan American health organization on Friday scored Dominica 80% in the area of preparedness against Coronavirus, the highest rating for any OECS country. He added that according to the WHO, the risk of Coronavirus in the Caribbean is low to medium.
The health minister also added that the country continues to develop and disseminate reporting tools “to healthcare providers during the preparation phase” and this includes the creation of a database and retraining of healthcare professionals on case management and severe acute respiratory illnesses.
Meanwhile, general surgeon Dr. Samuel Christian urges the government to do more in the area of preparedness and expertise to prevent and contain the threats of Coronavirus which has killed over 41,000 people worldwide, mostly in China where it originated.
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