WHO, EU supply Ukrainian labs to boost COVID-19 testing - Jul. 06, 2020

With funding from the European Union, the World Health Organization has provided 27 Ukrainian laboratories with essential supplies used to test for the novel coronavirus, the global health agency’s office in Ukraine announced on July 6.

The materials, worth over 3.5 million euros, include consumables, reagents and laboratory equipment to speed up and expand polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing across the country.

Among the equipment provided by the WHO are 25 PCR thermocyclers, which will be delivered to Ukraine by the end of August. One such apparatus allows for carrying out an additional 400-600 tests per day.

The WHO is also providing seven automatic stations for RNA extraction. Two have already been set up and five more will be delivered in the next two weeks. Each station doubles the speed of detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

“Enhanced testing is critical for detecting the disease in a timely manner, controlling the spread of the virus and saving lives,” Jarno Habicht, WHO representative in Ukraine, said.

Ukraine has increased testing since the beginning of the outbreak in March. Today, the network of regional labs administers between 11,000 and 13,000 PCR tests on average on weekdays. The number of tests tends to be lower on weekends, which directly affects the number of new cases reported.

Additionally, Lviv Oblast has faced delays in testing due to the large number of samples that the regional laboratory could not process on time. A portion of samples had to be sent to laboratories in other regions.

This is one of several aid packages that will be delivered to Ukraine through August 2020 and distributed to regional laboratories according to the needs identified by the country’s health ministry and the President’s Office.

The total COVID-19 response package from the EU to Ukraine amounts 190 million euros.