The symbiosis between parishioners from the Evangelical Church of Cameroon (ECC), Biyem Assi and the research team from CRID was perfect. The screening was successful and results will be available within 72 hours.
As previously announced, on Sunday, April 18, 2021, a team made up of 12 researchers from the Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases (CRID) carried out Covid-19 screening at the Evangelical Church of Cameroon (ECC), Biyem-Assi Parish located at “Montée Jouvence”, Yaoundé, Cameroon. Rev Pastor Henri Mbatzing, head of the parish, welcomed this initiative and encouraged the congregation to massively participate.
The screenings proper ran from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. The professionalism of the team from CRID was corroborated by the voluntary participation of the parishioners. Dr Huguette Simo, head of the screening unit, noted that, the believers of this Christian community “have voluntarily and massively adhered to this campaign”. She further added that “the team was united and demonstrated a cloudless professionalism when welcoming volunteers especially during the nasopharyngeal sample collection”.
Once in the laboratory, analysis will be carried out using “real-time RT-PCR”, which involves polymerase chain reaction. The steps of detecting “SARS-CoV-2” will be followed by other “PCR” tests for the identification of potential variants of the virus.
According to Prof Charles Wondji, Executive Director of CRID, the urgency of this campaign is related to the global health crisis. He noted that “The country is facing a new wave of the spread of Covid-19. Infection rates are increasing. It is imperative to reduce the spread. One of the means of this strategy is screening. “. By helping populations to know their status, CRID directly participates in reducing the transmission of this disease. The University of Tübingen in Germany is a major partner of this campaign, which is part of the Covid-19 research projects carried out by CRID. Are you satisfied with this campaign? The “Yes” is unanimous among all stakeholders. Results were made available to all participants 72 hours after the screening, under the strict respect of confidentiality. The next campaign is coming soon…
