Philippines now has 15 laboratories for coronavirus tests

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines now has a total of 15 accredited laboratories for coronavirus testing nationwide, as of Sunday, April 12.

In a briefing, National Task Force (NTF) COVID-19 chief implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr announced additional testing centers that can help speed up the confirmation of coronavirus cases in the country:

• Victoriano Luna Hospital in Quezon City
• The Medical City in Pasig City
• Makati Medical Center in Makati City
• Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory in Mandaluyong City
• St Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City

“Ang mga pasilidad na ito ay makakatulong upang mapabilis at mapalawak ang ating kakayanan na makapag-test at makapag-identify ng COVID-19 patients upang sila ay mabigyan ng treatment,” he said.

(These facilities will help fast-track and expand our capacity to test and identify COVID-19 patients so they can be treated.)

The Department of Health earlier announced these 10 other laboratories for coronavirus testing:

• Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in Muntinlupa City
• Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center in Baguio City
• San Lazaro Hospital in Manila City
• Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City
• Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City
• University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health in Manila City
• Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City
• Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City
• Bicol Public Health Laboratory in Legazpi City
• St Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City

The Philippines is playing catch up on testing for the coronavirus, with the government drawing flak for the slow pace.

On April 7, Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said the government targets to reach 20,000 tests per day by April 27, but priority will be given to suspected cases to avoid overwhelming laboratories.

The province of Cavite announced on Sunday that it will conduct mass testing for nearly 2 million people, including frontliners, students, teachers, public utility vehicle drivers, factory workers, and supermarket workers.

As of Sunday, the Philippines has 4,648 cases of the coronavirus, with 297 deaths and 197 recoveries.

Health experts have estimated that the number of cases may reach anywhere between 26,000 and 75,000. (READ: Ex-DOH chief: Actual number of virus cases could reach 75,000 in 2 weeks) – Rappler.com