The Health Commission of the National Assembly, approved this Wednesday in the first debate the project of law 752, which authorizes the importation, commercialization, distribution and use of non-invasive rapid tests for domestic use for the detection of Covid-19.
The proponent is Deputy Kayra Harding, who explained that this is an alternative and tool to combat the virus.
“The importation of these tests will be regulated, so that it is the most efficient to contribute to the work of the Ministry of Health,” he said.
He added, “We have already said in different meetings that we are seeing the long lines, that it is very expensive in private laboratories, this test is going to be an alternative, what is sought is that it can be imported, marketed and distributed in our country with economic prices, that the test be certified, this will continue to be managed by the Ministry of Health, the Social Security Fund, it will continue to be regulated through all channels, that the companies that come are from countries that we are certain of of the effectiveness of these tests, because what we are looking for is for the Panamanian people to have a tool to combat this pandemic, but one that meets quality standards,” he said.
The bill has received more than 10 modifications that have been worked on by technicians from the Government Innovation Authority (AIG), and has also had contributions from the Ministry of Health (Minsa).
“What we are looking for is that traceability can be maintained, that it can be an effective tool to combat the pandemic, we have also welcomed some concerns from private sectors, in this case the simple home or self-applied test is not going to be a guarantee like a certificate that the person cannot go to work, in this case they would have to have the certification of the corresponding professional, there is an article that indicates that these tests are especially aimed at those people who are asymptomatic and in the same way at people who have had a close contact, because the person who has symptoms must go immediately to the specialist, “said Harding.
He stated that, in the event that the person takes the test and has a positive result, he must announce it to the corresponding authority and receive his treatment, reiterating that the idea of this bill is that the citizen, from the comfort of his home, Without having to stand in line or pay large sums of money, you can do it efficiently and economically with home tests.
