Home Letters Why are COVID-19 test results going to minister first, and not to...
Dear Editor,
I saw a very disturbing article today (Saturday 4th April) in a section of the media, which stated that “COVID-19 test results go from lab to minister”. This shocked me to the core.
According to the article:
“Doctors have expressed frustration with this procedure since, for them, it is imperative that the doctors get the results first, so they can know how to treat the patient. The Minister confirmed that she receives the results first during a virtual press conference. The doctors, speaking on condition of anonymity, say it sometimes takes 12-18 hours after the results of the tests are known before they get it.”
This is totally unacceptable, and I should say criminal. Why are test results going to a woman whose ministerial legality is currently questionable in wake of the political maelstrom engulfing this country, and who is not a medical professional, not even in the remotest sense?
This virus is wildly and rapidly killing its victims, making rapid knowledge of the results a life-and-death matter. This is utterly unacceptable, and raises many questions.
I am calling on the Ministry of Public Health to explain to the public why the “Minister” must be the first one to get the results of COVID-19 tests, and not the doctors.
Further, where are the Medical Board of Guyana and other top medical professionals? And why are they not addressing this disturbing matter, as I learnt this issue was known for a few days now?
I saw PAHO’s Representative, Dr William Adu-Krow, sharing public forum with Ms Lawrence on the issue of COVID-19. I am sure he is aware of this, being so intimately involved with the Public Health Ministry on COVID-19. Why has Dr Adu-Krow not corrected Ms Lawrence that this is immoral, unacceptable and plain wrong? He represents a global entity like PAHO, that is doing everything it can to save as many lives as possible. He knows time is of the essence. Why has he not addressed this matter with Ms Lawrence, given how deadly this virus is? Is he in agreement with the test results going from lab to the Minister? Can he explain the reason for this?
Other important questions are: Is the Ministry using COVID-19 as a political weapon against this nation? To what means and ends? The Minister and her Ministry have been a dismal failure in disseminating timely and proper information to the public on the virus. Every day we are seeing this virus claiming the lives of thousands of people worldwide. Researchers are rushing to develop kits to give people the results within hours, so that lives can be saved and doctors and nurses can begin to help victims immediately.
So why are COVID-19 test results sent to a a Minister, and not the doctors, as quickly as those results are known?
Yours faithfully,
Name and address
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