Uganda has procured two mobile polymerase chain reaction (PCR) laboratories to accelerate COVID-19 tests on cross-border cargo drivers.
This was announced by that country’s Health Minister Ruth Aceng who said that the PCR laboratories will be useful for onsite testing and they will also shorten the time to transport samples to the country’s top laboratory Uganda Virus Research Institute.
In a televised address, Aceng said:
They will be deployed at congested border points to quicken testing and return of results.
This vigorous approach to screening, testing and tracking of cargo transporters at the border entry points is adopted after three cross-border cargo drivers tested positive for coronavirus within less than five days.
The Ministry of Health claims that an average of 2 500 trucks enters Uganda every day. Uganda has, as of April 20, 2020, 12:48 GMT, recorded 55 coronavirus cases including 28 recoveries.
More: Xinhua