Health Ministry says some private hospitals, labs failed to register COVID-19 test results on gov't system

Turkey's Health Ministry has announced that some private hospitals and labs authorized to run COVID-19 tests have failed to register the test results on the ministry's sytem, as a result of there have been problems with regards to the identification of the contact chain in case of an infected person.

Duvar English

Turkey's Health Ministry has announced that some private hospitals and labs authorized to run COVID-19 tests have not registered the tests' results on the ministry's system, daily Birgün reported on Aug. 28.

COVID-19 pandemic 'out of control in Turkey'COVID-19 pandemic 'out of control in Turkey'

The ministry said in a circular issued on Aug. 8 that this situation has resulted in malfunctions in the “filiation” method -- a system through which health authorities screen the chains of contacts of people infected with the COVID-19. The ministry said that due to the failure of the private hospitals and labs, some people infected with the virus have not been registered on the system.

“The authorization to run tests will be withdrawn the health institutions which acted in violations of the rules, and the necessary legal processes will be conducted,” the ministry said its notice.

Meanwhile, the Turkish Association of Private Hospitals and Health Institutions (OHSAD) has said that some private hospitals and labs have charged people a higher price than the previously set price for the COVID-19 tests.

Of the 211 labs that are authorized to run COVID-19 tests in Turkey, 57 of them are either private labs or labs located in private hospitals.