Omicron cannot be detected in Moldova. Although the ANSP laboratories have been talking about virus sequencing since the summer, the authorities say that the specialists are still in the training stage.
The new version of Covid-19, Omicron, which is spreading rapidly around the world, cannot be detected in Moldova. Although the sequencing of the virus in ANSP laboratories has been talked about since the summer, the process has not started until today. For several weeks now, the authorities have been saying that the specialists are still at the training stage.
Published:29.11.2021, 17:13
Ala HALACU, HEAD OF LABORATORY DIAGNOSTIC DIRECTORATE, ANSP:„The specialists from the laboratory where the sequencer will be used are at the stage of training and implementation of the method with subsequent training regarding the analysis of the sequences. A training in bioinformatics. ”
But the fact that the specialists are trained, the health authorities have been talking since October.
Svetlana NICOLAESCU, SECRETARY OF STATE OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH:“This week there are those trainings and trainings of the staff, of the methodology of these methods. We hope to have the opportunity soon. “
Time passed, and a month later, when the sequencer donated by the EU and WHO arrived in Moldova, responsibilities from the National Public Health Agency announced again that employees are taking lessons on how to detect new variants of the virus.
Nicolae JELAMSCHI, ANSP DIRECTOR:“We hope in 2-3 weeks to start the actual activity of using sequencer.
– Why does it take so long?
“Because it was installed a few days ago, the specialists who installed the equipment will come to train the specialists.”
Therefore, it is not clear how long the training will take for ANSP specialists to detect new strains of the coronavirus, such as the one detected in South Africa – Omicron, which is spreading rapidly in Europe. Last summer, when the Delta version spread all over the world, our health authorities sent tests to a laboratory in Germany. After a few weeks of waiting, German specialists confirmed the presence of the Delta strain, but at that time already in Moldova the number of infections and deaths was increasing, and the country was facing a new wave of pandemic.