The National Public Health Reference Lab (NPHRL) in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and PAHO/WHO Guyana Country Office provided training in February 2020 for the Implementation of the new coronavirus (COVID19) detection in Guyana. Four laboratory technicians from NPHRL and two laboratory technicians from the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) were trained in conducting the practical essay to ascertain negative and positive controls of COVID19. However, the theoretical aspect of the training had 19 public health participants who worked in various departments of the hospital.
The National Public Health Reference Laboratory was certified in 2010, to provide quality laboratory services countrywide. This means that the local facility assuming the role of the leading laboratory, providing public health and reference diagnostic tests for management and prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
In providing a comment on the training, PAHO Consultant, Dr. Lionel Gresh, stated in a quote, "One thing that is really important to emphasize is the fact that we were able to implement the essay so quickly in the country is because we've been working since 2016 in strengthening the capacity of the lab in terms of monitoring and detection. So what we are seeing today is really the result of 3 1/2 years of work in close collaboration between the MoPH and PAHO in strengthening the molecular platform at the NPHRL)".
Since the PAHO/WHO Director declared the Coronavirus epidemic in China as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the Guyana Country Office has been working closely with the Ministry of Public Health's Minister and the Public Relation and Health Promotion Unit at the MoPH, to prepare for a potential arrival of the virus in the country. This was considered given the number of Chinese who recently returned to Guyana on road projects and the return of Guyana students studying in China.
In speaking on the satisfaction of the training, the Director of the National Public Health Reference Lab stated that, "Expert training was provided on covid19 by Dr. Daniel Gresh, PAHO consultant, so we have the necessary skills, which we perfect overtime, even though as we recognized that there might be things about this virus that we need to learn further. As those techniques becomes available in the wider world, we expect PAHO to support us in enhancing our capacity to the detection regarding the COVID19",
The participants expressed satisfaction on the training received. They indicated that the training was provided at the right time, even though they would have had some training on virus testing in previous years.
PAHO/WHO Guyana CO will continue to work with the National Public Health Reference Lab and the Ministry of Public Health in order to protect and prevent the citizens of Guyana from the COVID19.
