{"id":140379,"date":"2020-04-13T12:47:43","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T12:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ny1.dr1.com.do\/wordpress\/?p=140379"},"modified":"2020-04-13T14:04:19","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T14:04:19","slug":"public-health-ministry-goal-is-100000-rapid-tests-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dr1.com\/news\/2020\/04\/13\/public-health-ministry-goal-is-100000-rapid-tests-this-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Public Health Ministry: Goal is 100,000 rapid tests this month"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Public Health Minister, Dr. Rafael S\u00e1nchez C\u00e1rdenas, announced that next week coronavirus testing will be stepped up in the Dominican Republic. During the press conference on Sunday, 12 April 2020, he said that the jump in cases will give a more accurate reading of where the Dominican Republic is in its war on the epidemic. “The number of rapid response blood tests we hope in the next 10 days will increase to 80,000-100,000,” he said. He highlighted that the increase in tests will provide a much better statistical indicator to measure the evolution of the country’s epidemic. There are around 10 million people living in the Dominican Republic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said once the rapid tests are readily available in large numbers, statistics on these will be provided separately from the PCR tests. He explained the numbers in the coronavirus statistical bulletins so far only cover PCR tests. As of Saturday, 11 April at 6pm, the Ministry of Public Health statistics reveal there have been 9,275 confirmed PCR tests, with 2,967 persons testing positive. He said around 5,000 of the rapid response serological tests have already been carried out so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. S\u00e1nchez C\u00e1rdenas said rapid response tests will be carried out in the coronavirus hot spots in the country. These are the National District and Santo Domingo province, Santiago, San Francisco de Macor\u00eds, Bonao, and Cotu\u00ed, which together account for 80% of the cases in the country detected using the PCR tests. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said this week the installation will be completed for labs to have the capacity to carry out 192 tests every three hours. “This will multiply by four the present capacity of PCR tests for the coronavirus,” said Dr. S\u00e1nchez. He mentioned the private labs Amadita, Referencia and Patria Rivas with new test capacity, and another at the governmental Centro Sanitario on Calle Galv\u00e1n in Santo Domingo. This is in addition to the main testing facility at the Laboratorio Nacional Dr. Defill\u00f3 in Santo Domingo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring to Santiago, he said that hospitals there are still not at capacity yet. He said the city has been receiving patients from all around the Cibao region. He made the comment after Union Medica, a large private center, said it could not receive more coronavirus patients. “We know the limitations of the hospitals in Santiago, and that is why we are developing isolation areas outside the hospitals,” he explained. He explained the new isolation centers are being used to send patients that do not have conditions to self-isolate at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“With the expansion of the rapid response tests, we will be able to introduce new measures after having a better approximation of the spread of the disease in the region,” he said, responding to a question as to what stage the country is in the fight against the virus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the time being, the Minister explained that the high mortality rate in the Dominican Republic of 5% is due to the low number of tests carried out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Minister, nevertheless, said that testing is not for everyone. “There is no better medicine or treatment than social distancing,” he urged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. S\u00e1nchez C\u00e1rdenas says that the rapid response tests will continue to be used selectively. He said to get a rapid response test, a person needs to have at least five days after being in contact with an infected person, or have symptoms of the disease that indicates it is in an active phase. He said the blood test will show a false negative if it is applied too early. “These tests are useful, if they are used correctly,” he explained. He said that physicians can also diagnose the disease using x-rays and by their symptoms with a high degree of certainty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the interview, Dr. S\u00e1nchez C\u00e1rdenas said that the Ministry of Public Health has yet to purchase tests. He said the Ministry has depended on the tests supplied by the Pan American Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and private donations. “We are working using donations,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to an inquiry from journalist Pablo McKinney about a proposal for the People’s Republic of China to donate ventilators used in Wuhan, and other equipment, now that the disease is under control in China, he said the proposal has not been received at the Ministry. Recent supplies and equipment orders for RD$2.7 billion were canceled after major irregularities and corruption in the order were revealed in the press and social media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

McKinney had said during the press conference that the Dominican-Chinese Chamber of Commerce has said that 170,000 used ventilators are available in Wuhan. Normal transportation to get the medical supplies and equipment to the Dominican Republic is nine to 15 days, but an air bridge could be worked out to get the supplies here in 24 hours. McKinney suggested that the Dominican state should negotiate directly with the Chinese government, bypassing intermediates, to get lower costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Follow the story in Spanish:
El Dia<\/a>
YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

13 April 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Public Health Minister, Dr. Rafael S\u00e1nchez C\u00e1rdenas, announced that next week coronavirus testing will be stepped up in the Dominican Republic. During the press conference on Sunday, 12 April 2020, he said that the jump in cases will give a more accurate reading of where the Dominican Republic is in its war on the … <\/p>\n

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