THE Namibia Institute of Pathology says they have moved from a backlog in Covid-19 test results of around 5 000 to nearly 2 200.
Acting chief operations officer at the institute, Boniface Makumbi, says the delay is due to the spike in cases in the Erongo region – particularly at Walvis Bay.
Makumbi was speaking at the Covid-19 communication centre this morning.
“When that spike came, it exceeded our capacity to test. When we started testing, we were doing below 50 tests per day, we moved to 90, then 200, and this was before Erongo and Walvis Bay,” he said.
The NIP lacks capacity in terms of equipment, the number of testing sites and staff.
To meet this demand, he said, they have increased their staff from five members to 16.
He said most of the scientists employed are female and all are Namibians from the Namibia University of Science and Technology.
The institute is in charge of conducting Covid-19 tests, but is assisted by PathCare.
By yesterday, minister of health and social services Kalumbi Shangula said a total of 16 305 tests have been conducted.
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