ILOILO – The provincial government is speeding up the establishment of a laboratory at the Iloilo Provincial Hospital (IPH) in Pototan town to conduct tests on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-9).
“We have long been improving the Iloilo Provincial Hospital. Except right now, we’re doing it with more urgency,” said Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.
The IPH will serve as Iloilo’s “third line of defense” to combat COVID-19, he stressed.
Western Visayas has one accredited COVID-19 testing center – the Western Visayas Medical Center in Mandurriao, Iloilo City.
The West Visayas State University Medical Center is currently being groomed as another testing facility.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), ramping up testing is the best way to slow the spread of COVID-19 as shown in China, South Korea and Singapore.
Without testing, cases cannot be isolated and the chain of infection will not be broken, said WHO secretary general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Defensor said the provincial government has already allotted a budget for the upgrading of the IPH.
It will also maximize the financial aid from the national government which is equivalent to one month Internal Revenue Allotment share of the province.
The aid is under the Bayanihan Grant to Cities and Municipalities (BGCM) intended for COVID-19 related initiatives.
People can catch COVID-19 from others who have the virus. The disease can spread from person to person through small droplets from the nose or mouth which are spread when a person with COVID-19 coughs or exhales.
These droplets also land on objects and surfaces around the person. Other people then catch COVID-19 by touching these objects or surfaces, then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. (Capitol News/PN)
