Brac gets own turbo COVID-19 test machine

| 27/11/2020 | 5 Comments
Cayman News Service
Faith Hospital, Cayman Brac

(CNS): Faith Hospital in Cayman Brac now has a GeneXpert machine to test for COVID-19. The GeneXpert is an automated, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, providing faster results than a traditional PCR machine. The Brac is now accepting travellers on the home quarantine iMsafe system so the machine will help with clearance tests at the end of their 14 days and speed up results for those going into the hospital.

“For our patients who would need hospital admissions and emergency procedures, we will be able to do the test faster to receive the result within an hour,” said Dr Srirangan Velusamy, director of Sister Islands Health Services. “The GeneXpert has capacity to run four samples per testing cycle. Therefore, if the lab has more than four samples results will take longer than an hour due to the machine’s capacity.”

Until now all of the tests were sent to HSA’s Forensics Lab on Grand Cayman, he explained. “Having this machine on Cayman Brac will allow HSA to better serve our sister islands community.”

Health Services Authority CEO Lizzette Yearwood said a lot of effort went into getting this machine to the Brac hospital.

“In addition to procuring the machine, which is in high demand, the laboratory at Faith Hospital was upgraded in order to allow space for processing the tests. We are pleased to now have the machine validated and other laboratory equipment certified. This is another step in our country’s efforts to keep Cayman safe from any spreading of COVID-19,” she added.

HSA laboratory staff at Faith Hospital have been fully trained and certified to use the GeneXpert using Public Health England guidelines.


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Category: Health, Medical Health

Comments (5)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Can you say. “Waste of money”!

  2. Say it like it is says:

    6.27pm I guess they will arrive on the direct jet flights from Miami.What is the load factor on these flights?, they must have a lot of empty seats. More public money going down the drain via CAL.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Too bad much of their equipment is broken. We can get shiny new toys for this, for travelers, but not vital replacement equipment for the residents.

    I guess we’ll get our own condo/apartment travelers who test the efficacy of the system.

    • Anon says:

      For heavens sake. Have a little perspective and gratitude please. The Brac only has around 2000 population. It is a wonder that there even IS a staffed hospital. But then, my generation dates from the days when Bracers got by with a dispenser and thought themselves blessed to have one.

      • Anonymous says:

        You don’t get the point: The HSA and CIG won’t keep vital equipment in good repair at Faith Hospital, but they can find the funds for this equipment which primarily benefits incoming travelers.

        Get it now? Gratitude? For making it easy for the rich while keeping it difficult for the citizens of the Brac? Don’t besmirch the staff — they are top drawer all of them, and they deserve to have top drawer equipment.

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