Labs assure travellers ‘Covid results will be out within 24 hours’

Laboratory companies have assured travellers of a 24-hour turnaround time for Covid-19 testing as requests for the service have doubled over the holiday season.

Travellers leaving South Africa were expected to produce a negative Covid-19 test result, as per legislation. But, given the long waiting periods at public healthcare facilities, those wishing to leave the country would have to fork out at least R850 for a test. Major laboratories promised a 24- hour waiting period.

But those remaining at home may find it harder to get their results back, as the wait was longer in private and public facilities.

According to Lancet spokesman Sandile Sihlaba the company was currently dealing with twice as many requests from the onset of the second wave.

“Lancet Laboratories turnaround-time will not be compromised, despite the doubling in the number of testing requests,” said Sihlaba.

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Following Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s announcement of a second wave of Covid-19 cases in SA, Lancet could confirm an increase in Covid-19 cases drawing from its own data.

“Lancet would like to emphasise that we are in position to manage the increase of testing requirements with our extensive footprint and multiple testing locations in eight of the nine provinces,” said Sihlaba.

Meanwhile, laboratory services company Ampath told its customers the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests used for travel certification would take 24 to 48 hours from the time the samples reach the testing laboratory.

To meet the Covid-19 test travel time requirements, travellers were warned to ensure that the date and time of specimen collection, testing and reporting of test results was within 72 hours of the departure date and time.

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Meanwhile, air travel suspensions between countries were announced the world over last week, following cases of the new Covid-19 being reported in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

At least five countries subsequently banned flights from SA.

The Board of Airline Representatives of South Africa general manager for Southern Africa, Wouter Vermeulen, said airlines had yet to be affected, to his knowledge, by lower availability of PCR tests for travellers, but international travel bans threatened to hurt travellers’ and the industries’ pockets.

“It is a challenge because for aviation the biggest challenge is uncertainty. That immediately affects our bookings,” said Vermeulen.

“Governments need to do what they need to in the best interest of public health and, unfortunately, airlines are part of the collateral damage. Fortunately it is in the DNA of the industry to adapt to changing regulations and being agile with our operations. But it is a challenge nonetheless and we now see that some of those initial travel bans have been reversed and countries have opted to rather go for other kinds of restrictions, like requiring the PCR tests.”

Last week, International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor warned those travelling abroad from South Africa they would be travelling at their own risk with travel regulation uncertainty abounding.

More than 30 000 South Africans were left stranded in foreign countries over the lockdown period this year.

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