ILOILO City – The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will install six sample specimen collecting booths in Western Visayas as part of efforts to improve the country’s testing capacity for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections.
The six booths are part of around 132 such booths to be set up throughout the country.
According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, the establishment of specimen collection booths is intended to complement the COVID -19 testing centers nationwide that have been accredited by the Department of Health (DOH).
Nograles, spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), said DOST’s regional offices will partner with DOH in setting up the sample collecting booths.
“As the IATF repeatedly stresses, improving our testing capabilities is one of the government’s top priorities,” he said in a virtual press conference aired on state-run PTV-4.
In a Facebook post, DOST secretary Fortunato dela Peña announced that around 34 specimen collection booths will be set up in Metro Manila.
Dela Peña said other collecting booths will be established in Zamboanga Peninsula (10), Central Luzon (8), and Central Visayas (7).
He added that there will be six sample collecting booths each in Cordillera Administrative Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, and Western Visayas.
Bicol Region and Nothern Mindanao will have five collection booths each, while Calabarzon, Davao Region, and Caraga Region will have four specimen collecting booths, Dela Peña said.
Dela Peña said three specimen collection booths will be set up each in Eastern Visayas and Soccksksargen, while two booths will be installed in Mimaropa.
“Aming ilalabas ang mga karagdagang detalye ng mga napiling pasilidad na mapagkalooban ng mga collection booths sa mga susunod na araw (We will release in the coming days the additional information about the facilities that will have collection booths),” he said.
The Philippines currently has DOH-accredited 16 testing centers that can check possible COVID-19 infections.
Metro Manila’s accredited testing laboratories are UP National Institutes of Health and San Lazaro Hospital in Manila; Philippine Red Cross and Detoxicare Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory in Mandaluyong; Lung Center of the Philippines, St. Luke’s Medical Center and Victoriano Luna Hospital in Quezon City; The Medical City in Pasig; Makati Medical Center; St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig; and Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa.
Other authorized testing centers outside of Metro Manila are Baguio General hospital and Medical Center; Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu; Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao; Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City; and the Bicol Diagnostic and Reference Laboratory in Legazpi City.
Nograles said more testing laboratories will soon be operational, once they get certification from DOH.
He added that the IATF-EID supports the accreditation of all testing laboratories, including the one being established in Marikina City.
COVID-19 is the infectious disease caused by the most recently discovered coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2. This new virus and disease were unknown before the outbreak began in Wuhan City, China in December 2019.
The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, tiredness, and dry cough.
Some patients may have aches and pains, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat or diarrhea. These symptoms are usually mild and begin gradually. Some people become infected but don’t develop any symptoms and don’t feel unwell.
Most people recover from the disease without needing special treatment, according to the World Health Organization.
However, older people, and those with underlying medical problems like high blood pressure, heart problems or diabetes, are more likely to develop serious illness.
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. (PNA)
