Fri | Jul 17, 2026
United States

PAHO deploys 190,000 COVID tests to region

Published:Wednesday | November 11, 2020 | 12:15 AM
A resident uses a swab to take a coronavirus test at the Central Family Life Center in the Stapleton neighbourhood of the Staten Island borough of New York on Tuesday. New York City officials are raising awareness and its efforts in stemming a rise in COVI
AP
A resident uses a swab to take a coronavirus test at the Central Family Life Center in the Stapleton neighbourhood of the Staten Island borough of New York on Tuesday. New York City officials are raising awareness and its efforts in stemming a rise in COVID-19 on Staten Island.

WASHINGTON (CMC):

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Tuesday that it has deployed 190,000 new coronavirus antigen diagnostic tests donated to four countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, and is conducting training to implement pilot testing of its operation.

Suriname is the only Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to receive the tests.

Paramaribo will receive 30,000, while from its logistics stock in Panama, PAHO shipped 80,000 tests to Ecuador, 40,000 to El Salvador, and 40,000 to Honduras.

In addition, PAHO said it is training staff to carry out pilot testing for implementation in Ecuador, El Salvador, Suriname, and in Mexico, which is receiving tests through the World Health Organisation (WHO).

These new tests, recently approved by WHO, could transform the region’s COVID-19 response by allowing health workers to undertake accurate, rapid testing for symptomatic patients, even in remote communities.

Rapid antigen tests are more accurate in determining if someone is currently infected, unlike previous versions that were prone to false negatives.

PAHO is assisting countries to implement new testing protocols to ensure that health workers know how to use the new diagnostics and report their results. Consultation and training on implementation of the COVID-19 antigen-based rapid diagnostic test are being undertaken in Jamaica and Venezuela, as well as in Honduras, Costa Rica, and Trinidad and Tobago.

“By providing results quickly, the new test will empower front-line health workers to better manage cases by isolating patients to prevent further spread and to begin treatment immediately,” said PAHO Director Dr Carissa F. Etienne.

PAHO’s Strategic Fund, a regional technical cooperation mechanism for pooled procurement of essential medicines and health supplies, is working with the countries to facilitate access to these diagnostic tests.

Polymerase chain reaction diagnostic tests remain the gold standard for coronavirus analysis, because of its higher accuracy rate. However, a longer assessment time was a disadvantage.