Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 22) — A $2.5-million laboratory equipment and 45,000 test kits funded by the Asian Development Bank arrived in the country from China on Wednesday.
The laboratory equipment and test kits were flown to Clark International Airport and will be used for COVID-19 testing at Jose B. Lingad Memorial General Hospital (JBLMGH) in San Fernando, Pampanga.
The said hospital will serve as a pandemic subnational reference laboratory and is currently on the third stage of accreditation, according to the Department of Health. Its personnel, meanwhile, are completing their training from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine.
The Clark Development Corporation (CDC) said the $2.5-million equipment, developed by the Beijing Genome Institute, can facilitate 3,000 tests per day.
The proficiency testing of the dispatched instruments is expected to be conducted on May 2 to 10, the corporation added.
“Once the RITM has confirmed the laboratory’s accuracy in testing the samples, it will be certified by May 15 and can run tests on samples at full capacity on May 16,” the CDC said.
Apart from addressing the COVID-19 crisis, the reference laboratory in JBLMGH will also be used for other medical-related research, such as on pathogens, genetic disease, and cancer.
