Civil work advances for molecular biology laboratory in Granma

HAVANA, Cuba, Jan 29 (ACN) The remodeling of the premises selected for the assembly of a molecular biology laboratory in the eastern province of Granma is 35 percent complete.

Construction workers and investors are working rigorously and tirelessly to meet the growing needs of the territory, all under the protection of the priority that, since the beginning of the pandemic, the Cuban State has given to the expansion of its network of facilities for the processing of samples and the detection in the country of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the cause of COVID-19.

The civil work began on the 4th, on the basis of an already existing construction in good general condition, to which the pertinent modifications are being made, Ángel Suárez Vázquez, head of the infrastructure and engineering services department of the provincial Public Health Directorate, told the Cuban News Agency.

He explained that the possibility of shortening the execution time was one of the premises when selecting the premises, located in an isolated place, but at the same time easily accessible, on the outskirts of the city and next to the highway to Santiago de Cuba.

It has two levels, the second of which will be used for the socio-administrative part, with a pantry, dining room, bathroom, storage room and a room for the specialists to rest, he said.

Based on an adequate flow chart that favors the conception of optimal spaces in correspondence with each process, the first floor will have a total of 16 laboratory rooms, such as entry and exit filters, areas for sample reception, extraction, mixing, sterile storage and laundry, among others.

Suárez Vázquez said that the fundamental modifications include the construction of interior corridors to differentiate access for personnel and supplies, and the disposal of waste, the latter aspect whose management plans are still being evaluated by the pertinent agencies and entities.
He emphasized that the new facility will be attached to the Provincial Center of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology, and that they already have the furniture and some of the necessary equipment, and several companies of the territory are committed to its completion and subsequent assembly.

The date agreed with the Ministry of Public Health for the delivery of the civil part is March 30, although they are working to finish it in less time, he said.