(Antigua Observer) The Ministry of Health is set to scale up its capacity to test for Covid-19, as the infection spread across the subregion has forced the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) to ration its assistance.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Port of Spain-based agency has been aiding several Caricom countries with Covid testing, including Antigua and Barbuda, before some of the countries developed their individual testing mechanisms.
Despite acquiring testing resources, however, many countries still depend on CARPHA to lessen the burden, based on the significant amount of testing that needs to be done. This has especially been the case over the past weeks and months, as an increasing number of territories have been dealing with an alarming surge in Covid cases.
Information Minister, Melford Nicholas, told media yesterday that the increased burden on CARPHA has had an undesirable effect on Antigua and Barbuda, one that the authorities hope to alleviate as soon as possible.
