Health Minister Molwyn Joseph says there was no coordination between ministry officials and a private doctor who confirmed four covid-19 cases today.
The minister told ABS that he will seek to engage the doctor tomorrow.
“However, it is an interesting development. There was no coordination between the Ministry of Health and the private doctor. But I think it’s a conversation that must be had and had urgently because of several implications,” he said.
The minister said, “When you use rapid tests you run the risk of getting false results. If for instance you get a false negative, it would suggest that individual is free of COVID and that individual could roam the entire society of Antigua and Barbuda or his workplace and transmit the disease.”
“This matter must now come to the fore and tomorrow we’re going to attempt to engage the private doctor to make sure that we are on the same page.
What should happen really is that rapid tests should be validated by the PCR test that is considered the most accurate” Joseph said.
Unfortunately, several protocols were breached; protocols that we observe when we test individuals that are not being observed when private individuals do the tests, in this case, this private physician.
Protocols of confidentiality and protocols of how you handle bio waste.”
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Minister of health and PM is doing a terrible job in controlling this pandemic in Antigua and Barbuda. Tourists on private planes are not being tested and are going straight to there hotels to roam freely as they wish.
Laughter is the best medicine.Good job Dr.John,well done.How could the minister in good faith be dissing the rapid test.When they were going to do that same testing at the VC Bird Airport.Back then you did not give two dungs if those tests were false negatives.As long as the damn airport is opened.You people are playing Russian Roulette with the lives of the citizens.The gun you are playing with.Is fully loaded and cocked,namely Covid-19.Stop playing freaking games.What are you going to tell Dr.John.Do not speak the truth anymore.It is time for you to go,go now.
Dr John, like all the failed Lester acolytes and now anti-gaston predators seems to smell blood and like cannibals of old are creeping in for the kill. You will fail….. God na lub ugly!
Dr. John confirmed that the Minister of Tourism was present when the tests were conducted. Didn’t the Minister advise the PM or his Cabinet colleagues of this development?
@Anon the dumbest comment ever! In order to facilitate reopening, the hotel had to register a doctor as their go to for any required testing etc. Why hasn’t the Minister of Health got protocols in place to ensure that the whole medical community is included and to guarantee that ALL doctors have access to the correct equipment? This is not a political stunt this sadly is clear evidence that the protocols in place are not fit for purpose. We need testing prior to entry, upon entry, during the trip and final tests prior to departure. All those travelling in and out can pay for the said testing. That way we ensure we are not having people come in and out of the country with and amongst our people like lambs to the slaughter. The reality is we don’t have the resources. We know we don’t have them but we also have no other source of income for the country. We need stringent procedures in place to mitigate the risk of community spread. This is never going to be 100% safe but at the moment it’s the best we can do. Why would the Minister want to publically chide a medical professional over their swift action? This is just another example of politics first and the well being of the people second. I don’t care who votes for who. I care about the fact that our people are being put in danger because we knee jerk reacted to reopening. Get your act together Mr. Joseph and for goodness sakes Anon get off your political agenda. It helps nobody and makes you sound moronic.
Most Doctors would have contacted the Ministry or Chief Medical Officer about the results and tried to get a PCR confirmation test done before rushing to the media directly. However most are not wh***s for attention like Dr “Hell of a lot”.
God forbid he’s not doing HIV, gonorrhea or herpes testing! He’ll be posting those on facebook?
Dr John has upset the apple cart. He has breached Dr Molwyn’s protocol of absolutely no testing. I find it interesting that the 1st time tests were conducted outside the confines of the Lodge (Ministry of Health), we have additional new cases. SMH
For the sake of A&B, let’s hope that Dr John is not deterred by Dr Molwyn’s statement
Is the MANDATORY wearing of masks ENFORCEABLE under the law?
There are reports saying the mask wearing creates hypoxia (low oxygen) for wearers of masks. This can be dangerous to your health. So, can government force people to do something that injuries yourself? This same logic of injury can be applied to mandatory vaccines. What is the government’s position on this?
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