News
Health Ministry has lost interest in PCR testing – Ravi Kumudesh
By Rathindra Kuruwita
The Health Ministry has not taken steps to process a tender for reagents used for PCR tests that could drastically reduce the cost of a test, President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science, Ravi Kumudesh told The Island yesterday.
Kumudesh said that 30 suppliers had made bids for the tender dated October 02, 2020.
“Some of the suppliers have offered to sell a unit at Rs. 1,500 and these are good quality reagents validated by many countries. If we can purchase reagents at this price, the difference between a PCR test and a rapid antigen test would be around Rs. 200,” Kumudesh said.
Kumudesh said the cost of a PCR test was Rs. 5,500 at present. This could be drastically reduced through proper tender procedure, he added.
“On the other hand, the Ministry acted hastily on a tender, on October 28, to purchase rapid antigen testing kits. Things have moved so fast that the Minister by now is also ready to distribute them among a number of hospitals,” Kumudesh said.
Although the Minister was planning to bring rapid antigen testing kits in a hurry, so far validation process had not been done, he said. Ministry hadn’t also presented the algorithm they would use for these kits.
Kumudesh said that with all the focus being on rapid antigen testing; samples collected for PCR testing had dropped by around 30% during the last week, compared to the week before.
“So we have two problems. On the one hand, the ministry is promoting rapid antigen testing instead of PCR tests. On the other, it is delaying the processing of a tender for PCR reagents.”
The NMRA must come up with a protocol on validating rapid antigen test kits and reveal the mechanism to the public, the President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science added.
“The sample for validating these kits must be chosen randomly. Given that these antigen tests can only detect those with a high viral load, someone can do the tests among people they suspect to have high vital doses to come up with a favourable result.”
President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science added that there were close to 200 companies that produced rapid antigen test kits. Contrary to claims being made in some quarters, the World Health Organization (WHO) had not given the approval for two companies, Kumudesh said.
“WHO approved them, considering the situation in the US while a presidential election was drawing near and COVID19 cases were exploding. That’s why these two US-based kits were mentioned but the WHO never said other kits were bad. Therefore, there is no reason why kits from China, India and Germany should be rejected.”
The situation report issued by the Disaster Management Centre at 1800hrs today (5th December) confirms that 607 persons have died due to the adverse weather conditions while the number of missing persons has reduced to 214.
The number of persons affected topped the 2 million mark (2,082,195).
The Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) formally took delivery of the EX- United States Coast Guard Cutter, USCGC DECISIVE, provided by the United States to SLN, at a ceremony held at the United
States Coast Guard Yard in Baltimore on 02 Dec 25. The event was also attended by the Commander of the Navy, Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda.
The ship formally joined the SLN fleet on 02 December under the pennant number P 628 and the main mast of the ship will fly the National Flag effective from that date.
Aiming to strengthen and develop partnerships to overcome common challenges in the maritime domain, the U.S. Coast Guard has previously provided 03 ships to SLN and they are currently patrolling island waters under the names of ‘Samudura’ (P 621), ‘Gajabahu’(P 626), and ‘Vijayabahu’ (P 627).
As an extension of partnership ties that bring value to each other’s services, Ex-USCGC DECISIVE was transferred as the fourth ship to be handed to SLN.
Ex-USCGC DECISIVE, a ‘B-Type Reliance Class 210-foot Cutter’, measures 64m in length, and having endurance of 6000 NM at cruising speed. Further, she has been designed for a
crew of 100 and is equipped with weapons and machinery.
The ship which was used by the U.S. Coast Guard has rendered exceptional service during her tenure by curbing illegal activities, including smuggling of narcotics in U.S. waters.
Sri Lanka inherits an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) that is seven times larger than the landmass. In such a backdrop, the Navy is determined to deploy this vessel in wide-ranging
operations that include the conservation of marine resources in the region and the search and rescue of naval and fishing communities in distress. Thereby, the Navy will be able to utilize
this vessel efficiently in the future to achieve the national aspiration, while ensuring safe and secure seas for all economic affairs.
The formal handing over – taking over ceremony was also distinguished by the presence of the Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer and Director of Domain & Integration Services U.S. Coast
Guard, James L. Knight, Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for South and Southeast Asia, Dr. Andrew Byers, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Commanding Officer designate of P 628, Captain Gayan Wickramasuriya as well as a group of officials from the Embassy of Sri Lanka in United States and the State Department
of the United State
The situation report issued by the Disaster Management Center at 0600hrs today [5th December] confirms that 486 persons have died and another 341 persons are missing after the devastating weather conditions in the past week.
171,778 persons have been displaced and have taken refuge at 1,231 safety centers established by the government.
Death toll rises to 607, missing persons reduce to 214 at 1800hrs today (5)
Sri Lanka Navy takes delivery of Ex-USCGC DECISIVE
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486 dead, 341 missing, 171,778 displaced as at 0600hrs today [05]
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