o Faults health authorities for testing failures o Establishing separate lab delayed despite order o VVIPs and frontliners need testing fortnightly By Maheesha Mudugamuwa Medical laboratory technicians (MLTs) yesterday (5) lashed out at the health authorities for obstructing the increasing number of PCR tests conducted in laboratories under the Ministry of Health. In a letter to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka Association of Government Medical Laboratory Technologist (SlagMLT) alleged that the number of daily PCR tests conducted at the Medical Research Institute (MRI) couldn’t be increased to around 1,000 from its daily rate of 300-400 at present due to the issues pertaining to several virologists at the same institute. Furthermore, the association has stated that the MRI was not conducting the necessary research activities to control the spread of the virus and was instead carrying out an optional service which ideally should be conducted by MLTs. Speaking to The Morning, SlagMLT President Ravi Kumudesh alleged that the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) should not direct the MLTs on which test should be conducted to test whether a person is positive for Covid- 19. “The laboratories under the Government had the capacity to conduct more than 2,000 tests per day, but still we are conducting around 500 per day,” he stressed. The association had further requested the Government to establish mobile testing services in each district. In addition, Kumudesh stressed that the VVIPs, frontline workers, and other government officials directly involved in controlling the spread of this highly infectious virus should be subjected to PCR tests every 14 days. The VVIPs including the President, Prime Minister, Army Commander, Minister of Health, and DGHS as well as all the frontline workers including public health inspectors (PHIs), MLTs, nurses, doctors, tri-forces and police personnel, and other healthcare workers are among those who should be tested for Covid-19 in every 14 days, as there is a possibility of them being exposed to the virus while engaging in activities of controlling the spread of the virus, according to the MLTs. Highlighting a request made to establish a separate laboratory at National Hospital of Sri Lanka (NHSL) in Colombo, Kumudesh alleged that the Ministry of Health had not taken any steps to establish a separate laboratory despite the President giving the green light.