KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition spokesman on Health, Dr Morais Guy, says given the chance, one of the first things the People’s National Party (PNP) will do as a Government is boost capacity of COVID-19 testing.

“We will ensure that 3,000 tests are done so we don’t have a backlog. People will get their results in eight to nine hours so they will have an idea [of their status],” Dr Guy said.

He was speaking during a PNP digital press conference focused on “Managing the COVID Crisis in Jamaica” earlier today.

Dr Guy said the PNP will open the market to the private sector who have that capacity with PCR machines, to rapidly test all samples coming into the country.

“And further we will require that those persons who are coming into the country will do a PCR test within 72 hours of arrival here in Jamaica as well as to screen those who we consider may have the condition on their arrival at the airports,” Dr Guy said.

He added: “We need to boost our testing capacity. It is futile for us to ask our healthcare workers to grope in the dark to try and find out where these samples, where these infections are coming from, if we do not give them the tools. The first tool that we’re required to give them is the results of the tests that we do.”