ILOILO CITY, July 30 (PIA) – The national government vows to help improve the testing laboratory capacity in Western Visayas.
Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr., who is the chief implementer of the Philippines’ Declared National Policy Against COVID-19, said there is a need to improve the testing and tracing capacity in the fight against the disease.
Galvez was here in Iloilo City, July 29, for a COVID-19 response meeting with Iloilo City mayor Jerry Treñas and the Panay and Guimaras islands governors including some regional directors of national government agencies in Western Visayas. He was also joined by Baguio City mayor Benjamin Magalong, who was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as the new “Contact Tracing Czar.”
Galvez said that improving the testing capacity and the contract tracing efficiency will greatly help in addressing the spread of COVID-19.
He pledged to provide additional units of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machines to the region to improve its testing efficiency.
At present, the COVID-19 testing capacity of the Western Visayas Medical Center that caters the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras and Iloilo is only 800 to 1,000 per day using the three PCR machines.
Galvez hopes to increase the testing capacity in Iloilo and the region up to 4,000 per day through a 24/7 laboratory operation.
On the other hand, Iloilo governor Arthur Defensor, Jr. said that their earlier lent PCR machine to the WVMC will already be donated thereto.
Defensor added that the provincial government will also donate one more PCR machine to help in the testing capacity of the Department of Health here.
Meanwhile, Galvez encouraged other local government units here to have their own testing laboratory as part of the quest to improve the testing efficiency in the region.
According to him, there are four new laboratory centers in the region that have already License to Operate (LTO), and 10 laboratory applicants on Stage 3 and 4 of evaluation and are expected to be completed in two weeks.
Aside from increasing the testing capacity, he also cited the need to improve the contact tracing efficiency and the availability of adequate isolation/quarantine facility as equally important needs in the fight against COVID-19.
Aside from Defensor, also present during the meeting are Governors Florencio Miraflores of Aklan, Rhodora Cadiao of Antique, Esteban Evan Contreras of Capiz, Samuel Gumarin of Guimaras. (JBG/PIA6)
Source: Philippines Information Agency (pia.gov.ph)
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