Gibraltar Increases Number of Covid-19 Tests by Creating New Laboratory

A NEW Gibraltar Covid-19 screening laboratory, a joint venture between Public Health Gibraltar and the University of Gibraltar has been opened on the Rock.

As part of the ongoing planning for the safe phased lifting of the lockdown, the Ministers of Health and Civil Contingencies have commissioned a contact tracing bureau and a dedicated Covid-19 screening laboratory.

The laboratory will use equipment already available in Gibraltar and expects to process up to 300 tests each day.

To ensure that the lifting of the lockdown can proceed safely while minimising the risk of a surge in Covid-19 cases, the Gibraltar Health Authority is closely monitoring the number of new cases of Coronavirus on a daily basis in order to assess the success of the lifting of the lockdown.

The contract tracing bureau will be created by repurposing the current field hospital communications team as well as redeploying staff to bolster the 111 service and the bureau will use the results from the screening laboratory to contact people who test positive and trace their contacts to advise them on the quarantine requirements.

The existing infection control and ‘drive-through’ swabbing teams will be increasing the number of screening swabs taken.