Two top organisations of health professionals are urging Government to move towards COVID-19 self-testing.
According to president of the Barbados Dental Association (BDA) Dr Vidya Armogan, that organisation and the Barbados Association of Medical Practitioners (BAMP) are currently in discussion with the Government for different kinds of swabs and are “heavily petitioning” the Government to approve two tests they believe will make the self-testing process easier.
“If we are looking at opening Barbados long-term, we have to get to a point where we can test people easily and quickly,” Armogan said during a news conference on private Safe Zones on Thursday.
One of the tests which the health professionals are asking Government to approve is a saliva test which is already in use in dentistry. The other is a nasal swab which Armogan explained “just goes up [the nostril] just about a centimeter and a half”.
“There is scientific evidence and there are pluses and minuses to both,” he told members of the media. (GC)
