With the help of Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s emergency medical service, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has established the first ‘drive-thru’ testing facility for COVID-19 in the country.
Dan Gertler, the Congo’s Honorary Consul in Israel, saw the success of drive-thru sampling facilities in Israel and contacted MDA for advice and assistance.
MDA agreed to help efforts to combat COVID-19 in the Congo and built dedicated software to manage the facility, as well as creating a training programme with videos and written procedures for use by Congolese medical workers.
Congo Minister of Health Dr Eteni Longondo and Director General Sylvain Yuma Ramazani recently visited the facility and expressed their gratitude to MDA for their support and cooperation.
MDA’s Director General Eli Bin said: “In light of the fight against coronavirus, we have gained extensive experience in obtaining thousands of samples a day efficiently and safely, and now we are happy to share knowledge with other medical entities around the world for the sake of saving human lives”.
In March, MDA set up drive-through sampling centres around Israel to test people for COVID-19, doubling the number of tests carried out. Mobile testing clinics were set up throughout the country to increase accessibility.
Plasma samples from donors who have recovered from the disease and are at least 14 days into their recovery have also been secured by MDA to treat patients with severe symptoms.
