Strengthening the Capacity of Untact Respiratory Specimen Sample Collection System in Response to New Infectious Diseases in Ethiopia

As the need for rapid and safe COVID-19 diagnostic tests increases, the Ethiopian government recommends safety measures for health professional as a key policy direction in the current infection prevention policy. Health personnel (HCW) are reported to have a 10 times higher risk of COVID-19 infection, and the need to establish a safe COVID test and safe work environment to reduce the risk of infection from face-to-face contact is emphasizing. This study is about a non-contact, automatic sample collection using remote data transmission program for the COVID-19 sampling system. Based on the hospital-based rapid sample collection model, this study minimizes the possibility of cross-infection as much as possible between the inspectors and the subject, and minimizes the operational manpower according to a safe non-face-to-face test environment with data automation. Training workshops was held with partners with Ethiopia's Oromiya Regional Health Bureau (ORHB)for health officials, pilot project hospital officials, and related technical officials in Ethiopia. In addition, the DHIS-2 link of the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, the central government, will contribute to strengthening ICT-based respiratory sample collection and infectious disease management capabilities by reducing the possibility of contact with unknown and provisional confirmed patients.