The DOH also extended its gratitude to Legazpi City for earmarking ₱10 million for test kits. It added that wider testing is vital in swiftly responding to the threats of the pandemic while the country transitions to the “new normal” setting.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 5) — The country can now perform over 8,000 COVID-19 tests daily, the Department of Health announced on Tuesday.
“Sa kasalukuyan, higit na po sa walong libo kada araw kung pagsasama-samahin ang testing capacity ng bawat lisensyadong COVID-19 laboratory,” Health spokesperson Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual press briefing.
[Translation: As of now, the combined testing capacity of every licensed COVID-19 laboratory in the country is over 8,000 a day.]
There are now 23 accredited laboratories to perform real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing for the viral disease, with UP-PGH Medical Research Laboratory, Singapore Diagnostic, and Cebu TB Reference Laboratory recently getting the green light from the Health department.
In an Inter-Agency Task Force meeting presided by President Rodrigo Duterte late Monday night, the government bared its plan to operate at least 78 laboratories by the end of May.
Deputy COVID-19 task force implementer Vince Dizon stressed the need to speed up the accreditation process of testing facilities, adding that before the country eases lockdown restrictions, it is crucial that it is first capable of immediately identifying and isolating coronavirus patients.
Apart from the licensed facilities, there are 35 more laboratories currently on stages 3 to 4 of the accreditation process, based on a DOH report. During stage 3, hospital personnel undergo training, while stage 4 is the proficiency test.
“Sa patuloy na pagli-lisensya sa iba’t-ibang laboratoryo sa bansa, inaasahan po natin ang pagtaas ng ating maximum daily testing capacity,” Vergeire said.
[Translation: With the continued licensing of different laboratories nationwide, we expect an increase in our maximum daily testing capacity.]
The department earlier said it is targeting a 30,000 daily testing capacity by May 30.
However, the spokesperson also noted that challenges remain in ramping up the country’s testing capability, including inadequate supply of reagents to perform the testing, as well as human resources to man the laboratories.
Meanwhile, a batch of 8,000 test kits from China-based company Beijing Genome Institute is also set to arrive this Sunday, according to the DOH. These test kits can conduct 400,000 tests. Another 2,000 Fortitude Kits, developed in Singapore and capable of conducting 400,000 more tests, are also expected to be delivered to the country next week.
To date, the country has 9,684 confirmed cases of the viral disease. Of this number, 1,408 patients have recovered, while a total of 637 have died.
