There have been rumors spreading over the past few days that there is a shortage of coronavirus tests in Armenia. In a press conference on March 26th, Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan said that there is no shortage of these tests and Armenia is continuing to obtain them. The minister said the same thing one day prior to this announcement when answering a deputy’s question.
However, Aravot received calls from several citizens who have been in quarantine for approximately two weeks. They said that no one took samples from them to be tested, despite the fact that they were assured that they’d be tested again for the virus in 13-14 days, which will be used to determine whether or not they will continue to remain in quarantine.
These citizens were impatiently waiting for the day when they would be tested again. But when that day came, it became clear that their tests would be delayed. “When we first arrived, the doctors told us that they would take samples from our nose and throat again in 13-14 days for testing. But yesterday, a doctor told me and a few other people that they will not be able to take samples because there is a shortage of tests and they are only using the tests as needed,” one citizen in quarantine said.
In response to this, the Ministry of Health explained to Aravot Daily, “At the moment, the Ministry of Health has an adequate number of coronavirus tests- approximately 7,000. We will receive many more soon.”
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When asked about why these citizens’ tests were delayed, the ministry responded that the number of tests administered per day depends on the laboratory; the number of tests depends on how many the laboratory can handle that day. And 5-7 hours are needed for the test results to finalize, as well as a great amount of effort. The samples are taken to one lab to be tested: the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the center’s data, 220 citizens were tested on March 29th, of which 162 tests were negative. On March 28th, 271 samples were taken, of which 52 were positive. There were 255 tests on March 27th, of which 43 were positive. This data is published once per day. The lab releases the test results late in the evening, and these results are announced the following morning.
A few days ago during a press conference, Arsen Torosyan was unable to say when the virus outbreak would reach its peak. He also said that he is unable to say that all coronavirus cases have been confirmed and that the situation is under control.
The number of coronavirus cases is expected to rise in the coming days, which means that there will be a greater need for additional tests. If we take this into consideration, it is possible that these tests are truly only being used as needed.
Nelly Grigoryan
“Aravot” daily
31.03.2019
