There has been a lot of talk in the country recently about the PCR testing machine at the Mulleriyawa hospital due to a technical fault. About 1,500 PCR samples are tested daily, and the error in the machine delayed the results of about 20,000 tests. That was in the last days of October.
Local technicians tried to set up the machine but were unsuccessful. As a result, the government eventually had to enlist the help of the World Bank-assisted Chinese PCR.
Accordingly, a special flight from Sri Lanka went to China with two Chinese technicians and arrived in Sri Lanka on October 30. They redesigned this machine on November 2-3.
Less than a month after it was set up, the PCR malfunctioned again. The Government Medical Officers’ Association states that at present only 75 samples can be tested daily with this machine. The union points out that the results of 1000 PCR samples sent to Kalutara have not yet been received due to the malfunction of the machine.
Meanwhile, the Director General of Health Services, Dr. Asela Gunawardena said that the PCR testing machine at the Mulleriyawa Hospital had malfunctioned due to a problem with the chemicals used in the machine. He had told the media that the goods had been ordered from China and that they were to be brought to Sri Lanka via Hong Kong and that the flight would arrive today or tomorrow.