Ministry of Health has announced screening for coronavirus (COVID-19) is now available in Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).
According to the health ministry, IGMH laboratory can now test for the virus after the testing kits were donated to Maldives from World Health Organisation (WHO). Minister of Health Abdulla Ameen received the test kits donated by WHO at a function held at the ministry.
Speaking at the function, Minister Ameen said it has received kits sufficient to test 1,000 individuals. The minister said the results of the tests can now be made available faster with the new kits donated by WHO.
Representative of WHO to Maldives Dr. Arvind Mathur said IGMH has a state-of-the-art laboratory which can adapt to outbreaks of viruses. He said the organisation has donated Maldives other medical facilities and equipment in addition to the testing kits.
CEO of IGMH Ibrahim Saleem said the hospital always aims to act at the frontline in such outbreaks and become a capable institution which can deal with such situations. He said the hospital is working to make permanent testing arrangements considering the pace of the outbreak.
Before the set up at IGMH, samples from Maldives had been sent to Pune, India for testing. The results from IGMH after screening for the virus will be available within 10 to 12 hours.