Health Ministry officials, politicians blamed for underhand deal

State-owned facility prevented from collecting samples

Private lab has monopoly over PCR tests at BIA

by Rathindra Kuruwita

President of the College of Medical Laboratory Science Ravi Kumudesh told The Island yesterday that a single private lab had been entrusted with the task of conducting PCR tests on all tourists arriving in Sri Lanka.

Kumudesh added that a state-run lab has been set up at the Bandaranaike International Airport but it had not received a single sample.

“We exposed this through the media. We have even written to the President but nothing has happened. We will be compelled to reveal the names of the Health Ministry officials and politicians responsible for this underhand deal, which has allowed the private lab concerned to make huge profits.”

Kumudesh said, “Now that the state-owned lab has been prevented from collecting sample, the Health Ministry has allowed businessmen to take over the process of conducting tests. Worse, some self-proclaimed experts are manipulating data.”

Kumudesh said that when they called for establishing a PCR lab at the BIA, there was a lot of resistance from certain officials of the Health Ministry and doctors who worked at private labs.

“However, the Health Secretary gave us his blessings and we established a lab within 10 days. This is a lab that can give a PCR test report within one and a half hours. It can test 4,500 people a day. I don’t think that more than 1,500 people will arrive in the country in the coming months,” he said.

Kumudesh added that the government had taken a risk by opening up the airports, given the importance of tourism sector. They were ready to assist the government by ensuring those with COVID19 would not leave the airport, he added.