So far, 107 COVID-19 samples have been processed in Peru, and they all tested negative, said Omar Trujillo, head of the
National Health Institute (INS) —a unit under the Ministry of Health (Minsa).
Out of the 107 samples, 82 correspond to Lima, 9 to Cusco, 5 to Callao, 3 to Arequipa, 3 to Tacna, 2 to Lambayeque, 1 to San Martin, 1 to Ucayali, and 1 to Iquitos.
Peru, he stated, is implementing the protocol "Patients Under Investigation," which involves people with non-severe symptoms, but with discomforts associated with a respiratory disease, and those suspected of having been infected at a hotel or airport.
The person under investigation for possible COVID-19 is isolated immediately. Afterwards, samples are collected to rule out or confirm if he or she indeed has the disease.
With the due protection, health staff checks the patient to determine if the clinical picture is compatible with an acute respiratory infection with the sudden onset of the following symptoms: cough, fever, cold, or shortness of breath.
After that, the patients are asked if they have traveled to an area where indigenous cases have been reported, such as China or Italy, or if they have had close contact with an infected patient.
The next step is the swab saliva collection, which involves samples from patients' upper and lower respiratory tract.
These samples are sent to INS, which —after six hours— determines if the patient is infected.
(END) NDP/LIT/RMB/MVB
Published: 3/4/2020