Balancing safety protocols

One of the most common refrains heard during this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis has been ‘the cure may be worse than the disease’. During the early part of the pandemic, this was in reference to curfew and lockdown measures, where many countries feared that economic repercussions would surpass health-related ones. 

Now, nearly two months into an islandwide curfew, as the Government prepares to ease curfew measures, that same refrain can be directed at the state of health and safety precautions in the country. This past week has seen testing ramped up across the country, but also saw experts warning that many COVID-19 tests were showing false positives. 

One of these false positives came from a fishmonger in Pepiliyana, which resulted in the closing down of the Peliyagoda fish market and a record 500+ PCR tests being conducted, while more recently tests in Rajagiriya and Kolonnawa were also false positives – the revelation of which even prompted fireworks in the low-income housing settlement where one of the suspected patients resided.

According to the CMLSSL, false positives can be attributed to inadequate testing protocols, something more prevalent when specimens are sent to external laboratories, bypassing COVID-19 testing laboratories under the Ministry of Health (MoH). This is done for the benefit of speed, but fails to take into account the legal and ethical aspects of handing over patient specimens to third parties. 

The CMLSSL cited the handing over of the MoH’s responsibilities to the Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Defence, and the private sector – without proper discussions with the relevant laboratory professionals – as a major factor in this spate of inaccurate testing. At a time when laboratories under the MoH have built up testing capacity to 2000 RT PCR tests per day, it’s important that we don’t forego accuracy in the quest for speed – something which, as highlighted by the Peliyagoda fish market incident, can set the process back even further.

In addition to this, there are also questions surrounding the calibre of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) being supplied to public sector workers. This second issue was one that was first flagged over a month ago, when the Public Health Inspectors’ Union threatened to withdraw from COVID-19 related work, citing poor protective measures, among which was a lack of adequate PPE. In the month that followed, inadequate PPE saw hundreds of Navy personnel infected, while this past week sanitation workers were also reported to have contracted the virus – the latter account is particularly galling considering many of those working in the sanitation sector are from some of the most vulnerable communities.

If the lack of adequate PPE is a problem – as it is evidently proving to be – the Government needs to find a solution as soon as possible, especially now with much of the population preparing to head back to work.

Over the next few weeks the country is going to be reopened, but there is still a great deal of vulnerability. While staggering the process is understandable, and indeed necessary, it does not take away from the many safeguards that need to be put in place concurrently. The most basic of these – aside from ensuring public compliance with health and safety guidelines – are quality-assured PPE and testing that prioritises accuracy over speed, the failure of which has already shown to exacerbate matters drastically.