Over 130,000 coronavirus tests performed in Belarus

MINSK, 24 April (BelTA) – Over 130,000 coronavirus tests have been performed in Belarus so far, a total of 8,281 of them have been done over the past 24 hours, Belarus' Deputy Healthcare Minister Yelena Bogdan told the media on 24 April, BelTA has learned.

At the start of the virus' spread a total of 250 tests were performed in one laboratory.

“We consciously resort to hyperdiagnostics so as not to miss any possible patient. We have been expanding our laboratory capacities virtually on a daily basis,” said Yelena Bogdan.

There are more than 30 laboratories across the country that operate 24/7. There are enough testing kits. Their stocks are sufficient as domestic production has been launched, the deputy minister added.

According to Yelena Bogdan, the number of tests carried out in Belarus per 1 million people is higher than in many other countries. “We have higher testing coverage than in a country like the Republic of Korea, which is an example for organizing work on localization and detection of coronavirus cases. We are ahead of Poland, the Netherlands and Ukraine. We are practically on par with the United States and developed European countries,” she said.

For example, the population of Poland is about 38 million. A total of 250,000 tests have been conducted there so far. These are 6,600 tests per 1 million. “In Belarus, there are almost 9.5 million people, and 130,000 tests have been conducted. These are 13,600-13,700 tests per 1 million population,” the deputy minister explained.

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