Coronavirus tests at Egypt's first drive-through testing site which opened its doors to people on Tuesday cost up to EGP 2,000 (approx. $123), a statement by the centre said. The PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, considered decisive for the identification and laboratory confirmation of COVID-19 cases, is priced at EGP 2,000, while rapid testing costs EGP 450 (approx. $28). Tests at the site in Cairo's Ain Shams University will be conducted for patients inside their cars on first come, first served basis, the statement said. The test results will be sent to the patients on WhatsApp the following day, or can be received at the site, which operates daily from 10 am till 6:30 pm. Samples collected from patients will be analysed at reference laboratories of the Supreme Council for University Hospitals. The testing unit was developed in cooperation with privately-owned lab and diagnostic testing company Speed Medical (SPMD) as well as the country's higher education ministry. The unit is attached to a 200-bed field hospital for coronavirus patients at the university which is due to open its doors on Thursday. Five other drive-through centres are scheduled to be set up at the campuses of the universities of Ain Shams, Cairo, 6 October, and Future University, the cabinet said on Monday. Around 6,000 PCR tests are conducted daily free of charge nationwide to detect coronavirus infections in Egypt, according to head of the health ministry's Central Department of Laboratories Nancy El-Gendy. Due to increasing traffic at central laboratories, the health ministry recently adopted clinical examinations, chest x-rays, and other lab tests as a means of diagnosing suspected coronavirus cases, with those showing signs of the disease receiving treatment immediately until the result of the PCR test comes out, the health minister had said earlier. Egypt has so far recorded 46,289 confirmed coronavirus infections and 1,672 fatalities.
