Ghana uses delivery drones to transport COVID-19 samples from rural hospitals

Zipline drones in Ghana

Ghana delivers COVID-19 samples using delivery drones from U.S. based startup Zipline. The samples have been delivered for testing within minutes from rural areas of Ghana.

Ghana has 834 confirmed infections and nine people have died from COVID-19, the disease the virus causes after testing 57,000 people.

Zipline conducted its first coronavirus test flight on April 1 and now flies samples collected from more than 1,000 health facilities in rural areas to laboratories in the capital Accra and Kumasi, the second-largest city.

“Using contactless drone delivery to transport COVID-19 test samples will allow the government to respond to the pandemic and help save lives more quickly,” Zipline Chief Executive Keller Rinaudo stated in a release.

As of April 15, the Ghana Health Service said it had tested 57,000 coronavirus samples.

Zipline, which already operates fleets of drones in Ghana and Rwanda to deliver blood, vaccines and other essential medical equipment to rural areas, is working with the Ministry of Health to enable the coronavirus sample flights.