Covid-19 home testing not accepted for international travel – Health Minister

Guyana is now introducing the COVID-19 home test, and while some persons may choose this option to know their status, it is not enough to fulfill international travel requirements.

This was disclosed by Health Minister Dr. Frank Anthony during the daily Covid-19 update on Wednesday.

“Someone having a home kit and doing a test at home does not necessarily qualify or meet the requirements for travel. No country right now is accepting anybody who has tested themselves at home for travel and we are not changing our guidelines to accept that,” Dr. Anthony said.

“Self-testing is a concept that you have in different countries, our travel requirements are very explicit, we are accepting an antigen test from a reputable institution where it’s done or a PCR test. There is something now called a rapid PCR and we are also accepting that, so any of these three tests we are accepting,” he added.

The minister noted that this requirement is in place for both arriving and departing travelers.

So far there have been 77 imported cases of Covid-19 in Guyana.

In addition, persons who opt for the self-testing and are found to be COVID-19 positive should report it to the Ministry of Health.

“With self-testing it’s a way of just, if you have any concerns, to check to see if you are positive or negative. First of all, I think not a lot of people would be doing it, and those who would be doing it, I think they would be responsible enough, if they test positive, report it to our surveillance system,” Dr. Anthony said.

When that report is made, the ministry would then determine if a second test is needed.

Meanwhile, the number of positive cases in Guyana continues to decline as only 105 new cases were recorded over the last 24 hours, with 1,277 active cases.

Currently, 76 persons are hospitalised with the disease, with 59 at the Ocean View hospital, eight of which are in the ICU.