Health Ministry plans to ramp up coronavirus testing

Laboratories in the Czech Republic can now perform about 17,000 tests for coronavirus daily. The goal is to increase the number even further to 25,000 tests a day through the backbone network of laboratories, Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch said.

There should be at least one laboratory in each region, which will be the backbone – this does not only apply to state directly managed hospitals and some regional ones, Vojtech said. Laboratories from the backbone network should then be able to perform up to 15,000 tests per day, with the involvement of others, according to the Minister, it is realistic to achieve 25,000 tests.

Vojtěch further stated that in the autumn a higher number of high-risk people with chronic conditions or those who have suffered from a severe illness, will have to be given priority testing.

One hundred six laboratories in the Czech Republic have a permit to test for a new coronavirus; hospitals and medical institutions are mostly private facilities.

The head of the laboratory group at the Ministry of Health, Marián Hajdúch, stated that at least one sample was examined in 90 laboratories in July. About 4,300 tests are performed per day, on average, at 48 active laboratories this month.

Vojtěch also stated that in times of respiratory diseases, it would be necessary for general practitioners to know who to prioritize for the testing for the COVID-19 virus.