Douala: Travellers decry commercialisation of COVID-19 test results

COVID-19 test results remain a must for those traveling out of Cameroon by air.

Some travellers have however decried the process entailed, blaming the medical core for making personal gains out of it.

One of such, a traveller who has opted to remain anonymous narrates how extortion for a COVID-19 test in a hospital in Douala cost him a flight.

The COVID-19 gold mine

“Many are losing money due to the Coronavirus pandemic in this country. I just missed my flight yesterday due to a Coronavirus test delay after I tried to no avail,” a victim of COVID-19 test business tells Mimi Mefo Info.

“I was in Yaounde when my brother asked me to travel to Douala from where I had to fly,” the victim narrates. “I traveled to Douala on the 9th of March which was a Tuesday and on Wednesday, I went for the Coronavirus test and told them that I was travelling in two days.

“They asked me to pay money if I wanted it fast, which I did, but unfortunately I checked it the following day and didn’t see the person that collected the money from me.

“Everyone else was just ignoring me and I decided to go and come the following day which was my traveling day.

“The following day, I left for the center first thing in the morning. The person was not there as well. I talked to the other people but no one seemed to care and after insisting a man called me and checked my name. He then wrote a code and said I should go check at the Laquintinie Hospital.

“To my greatest surprise, the doctors told me that my results were out since the previous day . The doctors asked me to return to the center where I did the COVID-19 test and collect it. On reaching there, it was two hours to my flight already.

“The doctor tried ignoring me again. One of his colleagues wrote down her number and asked me send her 20,000 frs in addition to what her fellow colleagues had demanded from me on the first day.

“She said if I gave her the money, my results would be out in just a minute. With just an hour left for my flight, I was compelled to pay the money and she produced the results almost immediately.

“Upon reaching the airport however, I could not catch up with my flight any longer.”

Mimi Mefo Info