MPS completes testing 173 samples for Covid-19

All 173 samples handed to the forensic laboratory at the Maldives Police Service (MPS) have been tested.

This was revealed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Ismail Naveen during a routinely press briefing held by the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) on Sunday, to provide the latest information of the Covid-19 situation in the Maldives.

As such, the samples were tested through the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine stationed at the forensic lab.

Samples of individuals in Kuredu Island Resort were tested on Saturday night and the process is now complete, said Naveen.

The authorities have made the arrangements to collect samples from individuals who exhibit Covid-19 like symptoms from around the nation, however, testing is currently only available at Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH).

Earlier, Covid-19 spokesperson Mohamed Mabrook Aziz had revealed that the hospital has the capacity to conduct 250 – 350 tests per day.

Authorities are also working to bring in more machines to carry out the work extensively, by the end of April.

Two types of Covid-19 testing are carried out at the Nationals Reference Laboratory established in IGMH, this includes screening tests and genetic tests. Out of these two, results for the screening test are very prompt and usually determines whether the person is carrying the virus. The latter is the more effective among the two.

It takes about six to eight hours to receive results of genetic tests.