Official said that the measure seeks to avoid the shortage of supplies due to the excess demand for tests.
The Minister of Public Health, Ximena Garzón, reported this morning that there is an “excess demand” in the requirements for PCR tests (polymerase chain reaction) and antigens for detection of COVID-19.
For this reason, the minister indicated that this afternoon a guideline will be issued so that the tests are only taken under medical prescription from public professionals depending on each clinical condition and not on demand. in ministerial health units, where care is free. “If a person wants to take a test in a particular way, they can do it, the guidelines that we are going to draw are not for private laboratories, or private care, or other members of the health network, IESS, Isspol, Issfa… ”, he explained.
This measure aims to avoid shortages of these supplies and to be able to cover with epidemiological surveillance those areas where there are “hot spots” of infections, Garzón explained. “That they are not left to free demand and they do not end so quickly,” he added and maintained that the number of diagnostic tests worldwide is still limited.
Today, Garzón said that the country has 1,300 diagnostic centers with an availability of more than 200,000 antigen tests and 30,000 PCRs. That number was considered sufficient to continue testing until a new batch of supplies arrived.
The official reiterated that she will continue to take free COVID-19 tests in health dispensaries with prior review by the professionals of said centers.
Ecuador lives with an increase in cases in certain provinces and with requests for tests in health centers, municipal points and private and public laboratories. Currently, there is 18% of viral positivity, through PCR test, when before last September it was less than 5% in the country.
“For some months we had the pandemic under control (less than 5%), even when the delta variant existed,” said Garzón, based on the international guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of U.S.
As of last December, the month that the omicron variant was also detected, the increase in cases was evidenced.
The country has a weekly increase of 9,676 cases, especially in the provinces of Guayas, Pichincha, Manabí, Pastaza, Tungurahua.
Of the omicron variant of COVID-19, which is considered more contagious, 68 cases have been detected after genomic analyzes. The first case was detected on December 14.
Of the 68 cases, 33 are in Guayas, 30 in Pichincha, 2 in Tungurahua, 1 in Napo, 1 in Chimborazo and 1 in Cotopaxi.
Garzón explained that although infections have increased in several provinces of the country, the mortality figure remains low due to the high level of vaccination in the population.
In the following weeks, Health authorities expect a further increase in cases.
From this week, people 50 years and older can go to any center of the Ministry of Public Health for the application of the booster dose. They must be five months after completing the vaccination schedule (two doses). (I)
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