As part of the Health Ministry’s program of increasing the number of PCR tests carried out to identify COVID-19 infected persons, health authorities took samples from 530 person from the Peliyagoda Fish Market on Wednesday , the largest number of samples taken from a single location so far.
The decision to test workers at the fish market was made after a fish vendor who had visited there was confirmed as COVID-19 positive on Tuesday.
PCR tests are carried out in the country at the Medical Research institute (MRI) in Colombo while virology laboratories have been established the Kandy National Hospital and the teaching hospitals at Karapitiya and Anuradhapura thus decentralizing the PRC testing process.
The technique known as polymerase chain reaction or PCR involves using swabs from the nose and back of the throat. Results can take two to three days.
