By Rathindra Kuruwita

Health officials endangering the nation by reducing COVID testing had already started blaming people for a future rise in cases, College of Medical Laboratory Science (CMLS) President, Ravi Kumudesh told The Island yesterday.

Kumudesh said that the virus spread was at the community level and that the only way to determine the extent of the spread was through random testing.

“We can’t control the pandemic without data. We see that health officials have already started blaming the public in case of a future wave. However, the same officials have reduced testing,” he said.

Kumudesh said that a few random tests were performed.

“We have already said that if there is a resurgence in COVID cases due to clusters formed around foreigners who enter the country without being subjected to a PCR test at the airport, those who made the call must be held responsible,” he said.

There were two labs at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) premises that test passengers and issue reports within 90 minutes, Kumudesh said. The first one was the PCR lab established at the BIA in mid-2020 and the other was the lab built by the Airport and Aviation Authority.

“From the beginning the government laboratory service was prevented from testing passengers arriving in Sri Lanka by a group of Health Ministry specialists who made large amounts of money from private laboratories and quarantine centres. The Health Ministry allowed private individuals to set up labs and test people for COVID with little oversight, but the BIA lab, which could be compared to the one at the Dubai Airport and run by a state institution, has been prevented from operating a PCR lab,” he said.

The government should immediately increase testing and that could be done by expanding rapid PCR tests, Kumudesh said. Sixteen 16 Sri Lankan hospitals already conducted rapid PCR tests.

The lab technologists’ union leader said that all 16 machines had been received by the country as donations and the Health Ministry officials had continuously undermined President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who had instructed the Ministry to buy 30 rapid PCR machines.

The CMLS President said that the President had issued the order after they had written to him on eight separate occasions.

“However, the Health Ministry officials reduced the number by half and although the tenders were called in June, nothing came of it. We wrote to philanthropists and they responded. For example, the rapid PCR machine at the Embilipitiya Hospital was donated by Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera, the machine at Lady Ridgeway Hospital was donated by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardane,” he said. Kumudesh said that if the Health Ministry went ahead with the tender and imported rapid PCR machines, all those who arrived in the country could be checked within 90 minutes.

The fourth option was to use the five Mobile Molecular Labs donated by an Indian company. Those labs could be taken anywhere and PCR tests could be conducted at half the cost of a regular lab test. Those labs were also not used for testing. Kumudesh said.