Maafaru airport PCR lab temporarily closed

Services at the PCR lab established at the airport in N. Maafaru have been temporarily discontinued as the lab undergoes a change in management.

An official from Heath Protection Agency (HPA) said the services at the PCR lab were discontinued as the lab is undergoing a change in management.

The official said that an assessment prior to the management change uncovered several issues which are being rectified.

“Even if everything goes smoothly at the start, there come some process deviations over time. We noticed some such issues during our assessment and are working on rectifying the issues,” said the official.

In response to questions over allegations that tests at the PCR lab were manipulated to generate false negatives, HPA said that no such issues have come to the authority’s notice.

“We haven’t received any such complaint. We didn’t look into it during our assessment,” said the official.

The official from HPA said that services at the lab will resume prior to the management once the issues noticed in the assessment are rectified.

The PCR lab in Maafaru was sponsored by the resort chain Soneva, and the machinery and equipment installed by ADK Trade and Shipping.