MINSK, 17 April (BelTA) – Belarus has received a pilot batch of instant coronavirus antibody test kits, Healthcare Minister Vladimir Karanik told reporters on 17 April, BelTA has learned.
The first batch of 5,000 test kits will be forwarded to healthcare professionals for approbation. “They will be used for medical triage at admitting departments of hospitals to separate patients having a regular bacterial pneumonia or pneumonia caused by another viral infection, from patients with coronavirus pneumonia,” the minister noted.
Next week Belarus is expected to receive more than 100,000 test kits. When asked whether it will be possible to take coronavirus tests for a fee, Vladimir Karanik said: “I think people will have this opportunity in the near term, after the instant tests will be tried and tested and broadly incorporated into healthcare practices.”