ILOILO – Starting next week, the province’s first molecular laboratory at the Iloilo Provincial Hospital (IPH) in Pototan town may start processing specimens for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing.
Dr. James Ravena, chief pathologist of the IPH, said the facility is only waiting for a license to operate (LTO) from the Department of Health (DOH).
“We cannot operate the molecular laboratory kon wala kami sang LTO,” Ravena said.
The P19-million molecular laboratory funded by the provincial government was inaugurated yesterday. It is initially projected to have a capacity of making 200 tests per day, said Ravena.
The turn-around-time of the test – the length of waiting for the result to come out – is 24 hours, he added.
Those who would get priority in the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction test will be residents of the province and indigent patients.
“Wala bayad ang mga pasyente kay ipaagi sa PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corp.,” Ravena said.
He assured the public that personnel who will operate the molecular laboratory are well-trained, including 13 medical technologists, six encoders and four laboratory aides and receptionists.
For his part, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., said the molecular laboratory was not an easy assignment.
“Kon wala ni guro ang COVID-19 wala pa ini siguro sa aton nga plano ang isa ka molecular laboratory,” Defensor said.
He urged the public to religiously practice safety health protocols to curb the spread of COVID-19 this holiday season.
“Ipaumod anay naton ang bagay nga kina-andan naton nga ginahimu sang nagligad nga Christmas,” Defensor said.
Meanwhile, according to Dr. Marlyn Convocar, director of DOH Region 6, the new molecular laboratory is the province’s first laboratory, the region’s 15th and the country’s 152nd.
Convocar also reminded the public: “Preparahan naton ang another surge of cases. We should not be complacent.”
As of Dec. 18, the province had a total of 2,844 COVID-19 cases – 172 of which were active cases, 2,573 recovered and 98 dead./PN
