Ministry adds 320 Covid-19 testing sites

Ministry of Health has increased Covid-19 testing sites to 320 nationwide to improve access to testing amid the fourth wave.

According to a notice signed by Ministry of Health Principal Secretary Dr Charles Mwansambo, the additional antigen testing sites will complement the 15 molecular laboratories the country has.

The new testing sites also include health centres nationwide.

Reads part of the notice: “To improve access to Covid-19 testing, the Ministry of Health has increased antigen testing sites to 320 across the country on top of the 15 molecular laboratories which are performing real time Polymerase Chain Reaction [PCR] testing for Covid-19.”

The notice said the 320 testing sites comprise both public and private health facilities.

It said those going for testing in private facilities would be required to pay fees prescribed by the facilities while at public facilities the service would be for free.

On measures put in place to mobilise people to go for Covid-19 tests, Ministry of Health spokesperson Adrian Chikumbe asked for more time before responding.

But in an interview on Wednesday, Malawi University of Science and Technology head of the Department of Biological Sciences Dr Gama Bandawe, described the move as positive, saying people need to know and understand how widely available testing is.

He said: “The second step that needs to happen is that people need to understand the importance of testing and the main importance of testing is that people know whether or not they have contracted the virus and in so doing, they are able to take the correct steps in seeking medical treatment and protecting those vulnerable.”

Bandawe said with testing, the main objective is to reduce and have as few deaths as possible, stressing that most of the Covid-19 deaths are from vulnerable groups of people in society.

Health and Rights Education Programme executive director Maziko Matemba said said with the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) spreading faster than previous variants, people will be able to know their status and take the right steps in seeking treatment and protecting each other.

According to a Covid-19 weekly situation report from the Public Health Institute of Malawi (Phim), the country is experiencing an increase in weekly cases by an average 122.6 percent in the current wave as compared to the three previous waves of the pandemic.