This laboratory, which has the equipment necessary to diagnose the new coronavirus (Covid-19), through tests of the Polymerase Chain Reaction-PCR, will help relieve the pressure on national laboratories and reduce the waiting time to get results to just 4 hours instead of 48 hours, head of the Beni Mellal CHR laboratory Rachida bahbah said.

The laboratory uses the reference technique for the diagnosis of Covid-19 according to the protocols recommended by the Ministry of Health in accordance with international standards in this area, namely the PCR test, to confirm the diagnosis of the infection, she said, noting that it will help double the Covid-19 samples throughout the region.

The laboratory provides a diagnostic capacity amounting to 600 tests in 24 hours, thanks to its qualified human resources who work continuously, Bahbah added, noting that all the laboratory staff was trained to carry out these tests on any contact peron or suspect case coming from the 5 provinces of the region.

The diagnosis of Covid-19 is based on the detection of the RNA (ribonucleic acid) of SARS-CoV-2 by the RT-PCR technique, which makes it possible to detect the presence of the virus in the body of the person using molecular amplification techniques, said for his part, Mohamed Ait El Kadi, biologist at the CHR of Béni Mellal.