This archive report was first published on 18 July 2020.
Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe directed the medical board to investigate laboratories producing unclear COVID-19 test results on Thursday, July 16, 2020.
Among the labs under scrutiny is Pathologists Lancet Kenya, whose CEO and founder Ahmed Kalebi has taken a break from social media to focus on his lab.
On Friday, July 17, 2020, Kalebi announced on Twitter that he was taking a timeout from social media to concentrate on his team at Lancet Kenya.
"To all my tweeples and acquaintances, I’m taking timeout for a few days from Twitter & Social Media to concentrate with my team at @LancetKenya_PLK on attending to the surge in COVID-19 laboratory samples and mitigate the disruptions we’ve experienced in our workflow," he said.
His decision comes after Kagwe urged Kenyans to avoid visiting labs that produce unclear results, warning that such facilities risk closure if found to have violated regulations.
"We have asked the medical board to relook at some of these labs and where we believe a laboratory is not adhering to the standards then definitely we will close them down," Kagwe said.
The probe follows a case where 17 teaching staff of St Andrew’s School Turi tested positive and negative for COVID-19 three days later after their samples were taken to Lancet for testing.
