ACCREDITED LABORATORIES FOR COVID TESTING
Accredited laboratories for covid testing are laboratories that have been passed by a regulatory body responsible for providing a formal attestation of the integrity of conformity assessment bodies.
The lab is deemed competent to perform specific tests in agreement to internationally agreed standards (in this case, competent to undertake covid testing) with test results guaranteed to be accurate and hence reliable for use.
Our world is in a difficult situation, taken over by an adversary which has and is destabilizing the seemingly stable and developed nations and making them reel like drunken patrons of an akpeteshi* pub. This must stop at some point and soon! Caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome – Corona Virus 2), the COVID-19 pandemic has proven to be a hydra-headed beast. For though it is a health crisis, its impact on the economy is dire. The world is still battling with this scourge that has taken lives and shattered families; this malady that has tested the limits of medical knowledge, health system infrastructure and capacity, and the international global response to health crises. The need for accredited laboratories for covid testing is simply pivotal to defeating this adversary.
WHY ACCREDITED LABORATORIES FOR COVID TESTING?
As accredited laboratories are important for the delivery of quality healthcare in the healthcare value chain, so in our wrestle to contain and oust the Covid-19 pandemic the globe faces presently. Basically, accredited laboratories for covid testing are necessary to identifying the Covid-19 virus in affected people for appropriate treatment to be administered.
BENEFITS OF HAVING ACCREDITED LABORATORIES FOR COVID TESTING
To properly manage the pandemic, it depends on reliable results conducted by medical laboratories to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It goes without saying that it’s not just any lab that can be trusted to facilitate this but an accredited laboratory for covid testing. The speed, quality, and accuracy of the test results will greatly contribute to the diagnosis, subsequent care, and salutary monitoring of this highly contagious disease. That is one.
Two, the reliable test results enhance the communal confidence in the test result. In times such as this, managers of the health system need accurate test results to quickly make and take decisions based on how high or low the cases are growing. Should a lockdown be declared or not? Where are the flashpoints of the diseases in the nation? How well are the initiatives of authorities in managing the disease working? For all these questions to be answered well and appropriate actions to be taken, reliable data is needed and at the center of it all are the accredited laboratories for covid testing.
Thirdly, accreditation supports the correct function of medical laboratories involved in covid testing. Remember, this is a global health crisis, hence covid test results generated should be accepted worldwide. The reverse holds true: medical laboratories involved in covid testing ought to be able to ensure recognition of foreign test results. This can only be vouched for when the facility that conducted (or is checking) the test is in the bracket of accredited laboratories for covid testing.
The world has had its fair share of diseases of epidemics and pandemics statuses. From the Japanese smallpox epidemic (735 – 737) and the Cholera pandemics (1817 – 1923) to the more recent Ebola virus disease outbreak (2014 – 2016) that stretched the limits of healthcare provision of West African countries like, Liberia, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. The latest on the bill since December 2019 has been the deadly severe acute respiratory coronavirus illness. It was first detected in a city in China, Wuhan, and by 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization had declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern and a pandemic on 11 March 2020.
Like any virus, it cannot be seen with the eye. It takes a laboratory test to officially ascertain if a person has been infected with the disease or not even if the symptoms are evident. Yet, not every laboratory will do but an accredited laboratory for covid testing. The next time you’re looking for a facility, don’t hesitate to visit SYNLAB GHANA (formerly Medlab Ghana) for prompt and reliable service. Nyaho Medical Centre, Lancet, University of Ghana Medical Centre are other places one may go too.
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