RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s health sectors conducted 28,553,941 COVID-19 laboratory tests, using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test technology, since the first COVID-19 infection was recorded to date.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) stated that the COVID-19 testing capacity in the Kingdom exceeds 130,000 tests per day, noting that 90 percent of the results are issued within less than 18 hours, while 99 percent of the results were issued within less than 24 hours.

This contributes to placing Saudi Arabia among the top countries in the world providing this advanced type of tests in a short time and high quality.

The ministry said that the number of COVID-19 test laboratories approved by the Public Health Authority is 48 laboratories in the government sector and 75 laboratories in the private sector. The number of laboratories affiliated to MoH is 25 laboratories, with a capacity of 80,000 tests per day.

Saudi Arabia is one of the first countries in the world to provide COVID-19 laboratory testing. The Saudi government has prepared and equipped the National Health Laboratory. The ministry also inaugurated a number of laboratories and specialized units in all regions, which contributed to improving services and preventing the spread of COVID-19. — SPA