São Paulo – Algeria started making coronavirus test kits this week. State-run news outlet Algérie Presse Service (APS) reported that initial output will be 200,000 kits a week.
Vital Care, the manufacturer, is wholly Algerian-owned. The plant is located in the Baba Ali industrial zone west of capital Algiers. APS quoted the minister in charge of pharmaceuticals, Lofti Benbahmed, as saying test results will be available within 15 minutes.
The kits underwent a study at the University Hospital of Beni Messous in Algiers. According to APS, Algeria is the second country in Arica to make the tests – joining South Africa – and the first one in the Maghreb area.
Algeria has seen 5,891 coronavirus casesand 507 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Algeria expects to achieve self-sufficency by making test kits locally, APS said.
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
