Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) has begun efforts to increase the capacity to test for COVID-19 in Maldives.
Speaking at the ceremony held to handover COVID-19 test kits by World Health Organisation (WHO) to Maldives, CEO of IGMH Ibrahim Saleem said efforts are underway to increase the testing capacity for COVID-19 in Maldives. Saleem said while two machines are currently utilised to determine the test results, efforts are underway to bring another machine into operation. He noted IGMH will conduct COVID-19 tests using three machines by the end of this week.
The CEO of the main hospital in Maldives said although 200 tests can be completed daily from IGMH at the moment, an additional 100 tests can be completed daily when the new machine comes into operation. He assured IGMH has a sufficient number of lab technicians for the task, noting professionals from Maldives Police Service (MPS) and Society for Health Education (SHE) are also assisting IGMH in completing the tests.
Over 1,500 samples have been tested for COVID-19 from IGMH. The hospital is also working on training lab technicians as part of the efforts to be fully prepared against the COVID-19 pandemic.