A shipment of self-administered COVID-19 test kits are to arrive in the island later this week as the health ministry moves to incorporate home testing as part of the national strategy for self-monitoring and virus transmission risk reduction.

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton confirmed yesterday that the WHO-approved kits should be in country this week. He had previously announced that the ministry would import 150,000 of the devices, to be made available free to Jamaicans, under guidance.“The intention is that once these kits are imported [we will] engage in discussions with critical stakeholders to determine the best approach to distribution and use of these kits,” he said at a recent media briefing. Dr Tufton noted, however, that there is a significantly wider margin of error with these types of kits compared to PCR tests, and that the results heavily depend on how they are administered: “In engaging in self-testing it is important to note that persons who suspect that they have COVID should see a doctor for further assessment and not solely depend on the results of these kits. Get the appropriate level of advice and take the necessary precaution.” He said, additionally, the ministry was also assessing applications from three private entities to import similar kits. “The process around testing is evolving and there are tests that have become available on the market and approved by the critical regulatory agencies – whether it is WHO, or the FDA in the US – which are now being utilised in those markets or other markets. And we have taken a critical look at these new tests and we are now in a position to say, with an appropriate level of advice and caution, that we would like to encourage the use of self-administered home test kits in a particular context, along with particular protocols,” he said.

The results of self-administered tests will not be included in the national COVID-19 figures so as not to compromise assessments of the status of the virus in the population, given the larger margins for error and risk of results being manipulated by some individuals, the minister has also advised. The national 24-hour COVID-19 surveillance summary for Sunday, December 26 showed that 707,700 tests have been administered since March 2020, with 489,022 being PCR tests. The figures also indicate that 84 new COVID-19 cases were recorded over 24 hours, bringing the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 92,789. The majority of cases, 22,942, are concentrated in Kingston and St Andrew, followed by St. Catherine with 17,280 cases, and St James with 9,193. In its most recent guidance on self-adminstered tests, the United States’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says these tests can be taken anywhere and used regardless of vaccination status, and whether symptoms are present. It also encourages using a self-test before participating in indoor gatherings with persons outside of the household. The CDC cautioned that while a negative self-test result means that the test did not detect the virus, infection shouldn’t be ruled out, and the test should be repeated within a few days.

— Alphea Sumner