ILOILO City – The city government will extend P3-million assistance to the West Visayas State University-Medical Center (WVSU-MC) Genome Laboratory.
During Tuesday’s blended session, the Sangguniang Panlungsod passed a resolution authorizing Mayor Jerry Treñas to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with WVSU-MC.
The proposed creation of a genome laboratory in WVSU-MC aimed at swiftly identifying various variants of the virus causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
This will then guide local officials in adjusting measures to preempt virus spread.
According to Treñas, the fund will be used for the procurement of test kits, among others.
Local officials in Region 6 previously urged the national government to establish a genomic sequencing unit in the region.
The current procedure of forwarding specimens to Manila is “time consuming,” they claimed, and “defeats the goal” of immediately identifying the variants.
As of Sept. 26, a total of 509 cases of various variants were detected in Western Visayas, of which 199 were Delta variant cases.
Iloilo City logged 63 cases wherein 26 were Delta.
In May, Treñas also sought the National Inter-Agency Task Force’s assistance to capacitate the Sub-National Laboratory in Western Visayas Medical Center for genomic sequencing.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Genome Center Visayas also received P92.6 million from the Department of Budget and Management to enhance its biosurveillance through timely whole genomic sequencing of clinical samples./PN
