Lithuania begins genome sequencing testing in order to monitor coronavirus mutations, the country's Health Ministry said on Thursday.
The National Public Health Surveillance Laboratory has been authorised to organise and coordinate the process. It will have to ensure that genome sequencing tests are performed on at least one percent of all positive cases.
“The coronavirus genome's sequencing tests will be funded from the state budget. Also, the country will turn to the European Centre of Disease Prevention and Control over a possibility to use its assistance in carrying out virus mutation tests,” the ministry said.
The government ordered the Health Ministry last week to organized and coordinate genome sequencing testing to identity the virus's mutations.
Lithuania identified the first case of the so-called UK variant of the coronavirus this week. The sequencing was performed by a lab in the Netherlands.
Read more: Lithuania confirms British variant of coronavirus
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