The ministry said that Morocco uses the most accurate and reliable techniques for COVID-19 screening.
Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Health has released a press release as part of its citizens-transparency approach to correct misleading information relayed by local media. The statement concerns COVID-19 patients in Casablanca who are “victims of false analyses.”
In order to enlighten public opinion, the ministry has issued the following clarifications:
The ministry emphasized that Morocco uses the most accurate and reliable COVID-19 screening techniques, based on uncovering the DNA of the virus. The same techniques are used by laboratories across the country for other diseases.
It is common to have different results on different samples taken from the same patient during consecutive days. The ministry explained that the difference relates to the amount of the virus in samples, its behavior, and its evolution in the body, in addition to its type and the method of sample collection.
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The ministry further clarified that in order to declare a full patient recovery, the patient should yield two negative samples from tests conducted at least 24 hours apart.
Regarding the COVID-19 diagnostic tests, the government department said that doctors rely on the positive sample even if it is the only positive result among a set of negative tests. Doctors subsequently treat the person as a positive case.
The ministry condemns misinformation intended to spread panic among citizens and undermine public trust in the country’s health care system.
