Cyprus Mail 30 April 2020 - by Bejay Browne
Tala and other local communities in Paphos have provided funding to enable the health services to purchase vital testing equipment for Paphos general hospital, a system they hope will be up and running within days.
The GeneXpert System, which comes with a 30,000 euro price tag ensures that molecular diagnostics are made quickly, accurately and easily.
“Currently Paphos general hospital has to send Covid-19 samples to Limassol or Nicosia for testing which causes lengthy delays,” Tala councillor Cathi Delaney told the Cyprus Mail.
The Union of Communities of Paphos, which includes:Tala, Anarita, Emba, Kissonerga, Konia, Mesogi, Tremithousa and Chlorakas, each donated 3,000 euros, with another six communities each giving 1,000 euros.
“Once approval is received by the health services, the procedure to install the machine at Paphos general hospital will get underway, maybe this will be in the next couple of days,” said Paphos district officer Mary Lambrou, whose office approves such decisions.
Delaney said that when the local communities said they wanted to help, Paphos general hospital said a testing machine would be the most help.
“The machine, which is already in Cyprus, is earmarked for Paphos hospital as there were four similar ones which have already sold, so we have all undertaken the process rather quickly. Tala council had a telephone conference and decided unanimously to donate the money,” Tala community leader, Areti Pieridou said.
The machine, a Cepheid Genexpert IV, provides molecular diagnostics for many instances, not just Covid-19 but also various infectious diseases, which is important, the councillor said.
The machine can provide test results in around an hour, unlike the current system which can take days, she noted. ”It will be greatly beneficial for use with Covid-19 samples, but can also be used to test for various critical infectious diseases, infections, women’s and sexual health, virology, oncology and genetics,” Delaney said.
“We wanted to do something to help as a community which will be for use by everyone and a benefit for all, and this equipment is ideal as it tests for coronavirus and so many others,” said Pieridou.
