Using drones to transport suspected COVID-19 samples; experiences from the second largest testing centre in Ghana, West Africa.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic on March 11 2020, by the World Health Organisation prompted the need for a sustained and a rapid international response. In a swift response, the Government of Ghana, in partnership with Zipline company, launched the use of Unmanned Automated Vehicles (UAV) to transport suspected samples from selected districts to two foremost testing centres in the country. Here, we present the experiences of employing this technology and its impact on the transport time to the second largest testing centre, the Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research in Tropical Medicine (KCCR) in Kumasi, Ghana.

Methods

Swab samples collected from suspected COVID-19 patients were transported to the Zipline office by health workers. Information on the sa

SUBMITTER: Sylverken AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9624400 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature