Canada’s claim that Africa’s COVID test results are inaccurate – NICD disagrees

Prof. Anne von Gottberg of the National Institute For Communicable Diseases claims that South Africa’s PCR testing, which is no longer permitted in Canada, is reliable (NICD).

The Canadian government has stated that the results of molecular COVID testing undertaken in Nigeria and nine other African countries will not be accepted.

Travelers from South Africa must obtain a negative COVID-19 molecular test result in a third country other than Botswana, Egypt, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, or South Africa prior to departure.

Read Also:  South Africa Children admitted for Covid-19 should not be alarmed

Travelers from these nations’ quarantine preparations will be scrutinized more closely, and travelers will be rigorously watched to ensure they follow quarantine laws.

Prof. Gottberg claims, however, that South African COVID-19 PCR testing is in great working order and is successfully identifying the Omicron variation. Furthermore, the situations in which South African passengers flying on KLM produced negative PCR tests before the flight but tested positive thereafter can be explained.

“The sample may have been obtained incorrectly, resulting in very little respiratory secretions on the swab and so no virus to identify.” “Or the person was incubating the virus, and the two days indicated the time it took for the infection to go from undetectable to detectable,” she explained.

Read Also:  South Korea Widens COVID-19 Vaccine Pass Requirement Amid Omicron Variant

Travel to South Africa is currently prohibited in around 17 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. These countries, on the other hand, are required to allow their citizens and residents to return home after traveling.