It is unfortunate how Ghana’s most prestigious lab is rather appearing to massage figures on the number of COVID-19 tests it could carry in a day. Earlier, the research center stated that it could test a thousand COVID-19 samples a day.
Later, concerns were raised on how that could culminate into the 68,000 tests they said they’ve done in the 21 days partial lockdown period.
Yesterday, the Institute together with the Ministry of Information and other agencies held a press briefing to indicate that, Noguchi’s testing capacity was no longer the 1,000 test per day, but 3,000 or 4,000 a day because of the support other local and international donors like the Japanese have donated to them. That was refreshing to here, but that rather confused me the more!
Let’s look at this. How many backlog samples did the President state in his last televised address were being awaited? 15,000, 18,000? Right, how many tests is Noguchi and KCCR able to do in a day, let’s say 3,000 or 4,000.
If indeed the two research centers are able to test these numbers (whether 3k or 4k will still give the institute out), and yesterday’s presser wasn’t an exercise to confuse us the more, then:
1. We shouldn’t have had a backlog in the first three weeks. Because 3,000 samples tested a day for 21 days = 63,000 results. If you use 4,000 test a day x 21 days, it should be = 84,000. We shouldn’t have had that 15,000 or 16k backlog at the time the president addressed the nation. Okay, maybe Nuguchi didn’t have that capacity throughout the 21 days duration. If so then:
2. Assuming that Noguchi got it capacity a day after the president’s last address, (Monday April 20th) then Nuguchi should have finished and submitted all the remaining backlog test results by Wednesday, April 22, the day the presser was being held. Because, whether 15,000 backlog or 18,000, that quantity of samples, per Noguchi’s present test capacity should have been done in a matter of three days. Notice I am NOT including the KCCR and the Public Health Lab and the rest! Good!
3. If the capacity of Nuguchi and KCCR is what we were made to believe, then it would make little sense to hear the president mention in his last address that, other labs were going to help with testing because, KCCR and Noguchi, plus the Public Health Lab alone, should test all that samples we take in a day! (Which country even lifts a lockdown when the virus is ahead of its testing strength?)
I doubt the present surveillance modules we have do take 5,000 or 6,000 samples a day. Even if that’s what they get a day, our backlog shouldn’t run in 15,000s and co.
4. If the capacity is true of Noguchi, and the other labs quoted as supporting the testing are true, shouldn’t speculations by people that the figures are managed before updating them on the GHS website? Why then the delays, especially when a senior Research Doctor at Nuguchi stated on UPFRONT on Joy News that they get positive tests EVERYDAY?
So you see, maybe my headline of they lying is hard a word to use, (apologies to them), its stands to reason that someone is playing with our intelligence and by extension playing with the seriousness of this COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana.
I am just a citizen, in fact an ordinary Ghanaian asking questions!
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By: Contributor
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