ILOILO City – How sure is the Department of Health (DOH) that there are no cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Western Visayas?
The only way to know for sure is by conducting tests, according to Mayor Jerry Treñas.
There is no such mass testing, however, because there are no COVID-19 test kits available here yet.
“Ti kon waay ka ga-test, waay ka sang positive. Kita diri sa Western Visayas, kay waay kita test kits, negative diri tanan,” said Treñas with sarcasm.
DOH should make available COVID-19 test kits in the region, stressed the mayor.
“I understand…I was told ang presyo sang test kit is between P5,000 to P8,000. Mahal gid man. But kamo ma-agree man guro nga kinahanglan available man diri sa aton ang test kits. Pilipino man ‘ta,” said Treñas.
The city’s chief executive also appealed for accredited testing centers for COVID-19 in Western Visayas so people would know their status vis-a-vis the virus infection.
At a Senate hearing on March 9, DOH admitted it only had 2,000 test kits on hand, against a population of over 100 million, and with COVID-19 cases already at 24 by that Monday night.
As of yesterday afternoon, March 15, the country’s cases climbed to 140 while the death toll rose to 11.
“I’m sure there will be more,” said Treñas. “Nag-24 (cases) lang ina (as of March 9) because kuripot ang DOH sang ila test kits.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) stressed the importance of testing when it declared COVID-9 to have become a pandemic on March 11.
“If countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace, and mobilize their people in the response, those with a handful of cases can prevent those cases becoming clusters, and those clusters becoming community transmission,” said WHO secretary-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom.
On March 10, the Food and Drug Administration approved COVID-19 testing kits GenAmplify developed by the University of the Philippines’ (UP) National Institute of Health.
On March 13, UP’s President Danilo
Concepcion said around 6,000 of these test kits were now in stock.
The detection kit, being manufactured and stockpiled by Manila HealthTek Inc.,
will cost around P1,320 per test, less expensive than the foreign kits.
In Malacañang, two Cabinet officials assured the public yesterday that the government has enough funds for the production of these locally-developed testing kits.
The Philippines currently has 4,500 test kits and expects 2,500 more from the World Health Organization, according to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo and Department of Science and Technology’s (DOST) Secretary Fortunato dela Peña.
“We wish to assure our countrymen that the Office of the President is providing the needed funds of the Department of Health, DOST and UP Manila’s National Institutes of Health in the production of the diagnostic kits,” they said in a joint statement.
Treñas recently ordered the suspension of mass gatherings, social events like barangay fiestas, public and/or private school activities up to senior high school, rallies and the like to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
He also issued an EO declaring strict compliance for self-quarantine specifically by persons under monitoring (PUMs) for COVID-19.
“(I) do hereby order and declare all persons who travelled from abroad or Persons Under Monitoring to strictly undergo self-quarantine, to protect the health and safety as well as to minimize/contain the spread of the virus,” read part of Treñas’ Executive Order No. 047-2020 dated March 11.
“It is imperative and necessary to protect the health and safety of the constituents of Iloilo City by declaring for persons who travelled abroad or PUMs to undergo self-quarantine for 14 days from the date of departure from countries with positive COVID-19 cases,” stressed Treñas’ EO.
As of March 10, Iloilo City had around 82 PUMs, mostly overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from China and its special administrative regions Hong Kong and Macau, and other countries with confirmed COVID-19 cases.
“We’re not saying they have COVID-19 but we are asking them to go on voluntary quarantine para kon may magwa gid man nga sintoma, then they will be referred to the proper hospital,” said Treñas./PN
Act now. DOH must provide every region sufficient test kit even 2000 test kit per region. Damo pa ni setse buretche ang DOH. Nga a di na ina nila pang hatag sa every region ang test kit. Ano pa hulaton ang mag positive bag o mag hatag
Panu magposotive ky wla gani test kit. Pakton lng nila anay dri eh tpos kn mpaktan na amu na pagpanghatag. Pakta pakton
OMG this is so depressing. Amo man diri sa NJ, the Gov said that people who may have been infected may have been walking in the midst of us for 4 weeks now and infecting others too yet still to date have not been tested. Young people (20s and below) do not exhibit symptoms but are still contagious
More power mayor. Salute you. ❤️🙏
In China, i am sure damo gid sila gin produce nga mga test kits for their own use but since they are now able to contain the virus, with fewer people getting infected each day, damo pa ina nabilin sa ila inventory. Perhaps now is the time to call a friend? Italy has already done it.
The DOH need to provide the testing kit ..whats the purpose nga mastrikto sila sa luzon if they dont mind sa western visayas!lets say for instance naging okay na ang luzon then the flight and sea travel back now…and those people who stayed here in iloilo that had covid went to manila..you think your all safe there??? Still its gonna spread out again and again….so please you need to provide a testing kit here in iloilo for all safety.