By: Adeloye A. Adeniji  – Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Faculty of Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa; and, Ceres Hospital, Cape Winelands Health District, Department of Health, Ceres, South Africa

Published: 28 May 2020

Disparity in the testing rate of SARS-CoV-2 amongst different countries and regions is a very big challenge in understanding the COVID-19 pandemic. Although some developed countries have a very high testing rate and subsequently a high number of confirmed cases, less developed countries have a low testing rate and an illusive positivity rate. Collection of the upper respiratory specimen is not often comfortable. The discomfort could be accompanied with epistaxis and headache in some patients. The trained personnel taking the swab is forced to protect self with personal protective equipment (PPE) to avoid infections that may result from the patient due to provoked cough, sneezing and spitting. This study looks into an efficient means of increasing the testing rate for COVID 19 without compromising the quality.

Read the full article here https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v12i1.2445