A health professional shows reporters the coronavirus testing tool kits in Juba on Tuesday, Mar 3, 2020 | Credit | Woja Emmanuel/Eye Radio.

The Ministry of Health is expected to receive 1,000 coronavirus test kits as part of its share from the East African economic bloc.

The regional Secretariat in Arusha, Tanzania, announced Sunday that it had received a grant of more than $500,000 to strengthen laboratory capacity for coronavirus response in the Partner States

According to a statement seen by Eye Radio, the funds are intended to, among other things, purchase and facilitate scale-up of testing in East Africa.

It will also support the supply of essential Personal Protective Equipment for health personnel in addition to those already procured under the Support to the Ebola response.

The region has so far registered over 1,500 cases of coronavirus, with 43 deaths from Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.

Only South Sudan, Uganda and Burundi have not recorded deaths due to the virus.

A joint consultative meeting of the Partner States’ Ministers and Cabinet Secretaries responsible for Health, Trade, Transport and EAC Affairs was held over the weekend via video.

It discussed the regional approach to the pandemic and the impact it has had on the regional economy, including severe disruptions in manufacturing and industry value chains, and a looming food crisis.

The Ministers directed the Partner States to facilitate farming and support small and medium enterprises during and after the pandemic period.

The meeting also discussed the assessment of cross border clearance of cargo and truck drivers at Malaba and Busia during the pandemic.

South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi are expected to adopt a unified approach of controlling cross-border transmission of the coronavirus.

In the meantime, the Secretariat directs East African Community Partner States to support local production of essential medical products and supplies including masks, sanitizers, soaps, processed food, ventilators as part of efforts to combat the coronavirus in the region.

The consultative meeting also urges Partner States to support agro-processing and value chains as an import substitution measure.