Cuban specialists will work in this molecular biology laboratory.  (Photo: PL)

Matanzas, October 18 (RHC)-- A modern molecular biology laboratory in the Cuban province of Matanzas was inaugurated this Sunday, which will have the capacity to carry out up to one thousand daily Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests.

The director of the Instituto de Medicina Tropical Pedro Kourí (IPK), Manuel Romero, highlighted to the press the importance of this new institution for Matanzas and other surrounding areas, as part of the battle against COVID-19.

The medical expert recalled that Matanzas will begin to receive foreign tourists beginning on October 25th, after the reopening of the famous and nearby resort of Varadero.

"There have been laboratories of this type since 1981 in Cuba, and within that network it was very important to strengthen with the new technologies that at this moment will serve to speed up the diagnosis of COVID-19, but after the pandemic we will continue other tests," indicated Romero.

He mentioned that in addition to Havana, the provinces of Villa Clara (central Cuba), Santiago de Cuba (eastern), and more recently, Ciego de Avila (central), Holguin (eastern), and now Matanzas have these units.

"We are very pleased with this opening at the Provincial Center of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology (Cphem) in Matanzas, a province with a great deal of follow-up work on these tasks," said the IPK's main director.

Yamilé García, Head of the laboratory located in an area of the Cphem, explained that the novel construction has three premises, one that will process DNA; and another PCR area, where positive and negative cases will be determined.

Garcia added that in the third unit the mixtures will be elaborated and, in addition, the reagents will be prepared for the realization of the PCR, which according to estimates the unit will have the capacity to carry out a thousand of these investigations in one day.