MANILA, Philippines – Philippine senator Sonny Angara, a coronavirus survivor, urged the government to do massive and random testing as soon as possible.

“In order to contain the spread of COVID-19 faster, … the government must speed up the implementation of mass and random testing, particularly at the community level,” Angara said on Saturday, April 18.

The Department of Health (DOH) has increased its testing capacity, and is targeting to do 20,000 tests per day by April 27. But currently, the testing is only on a targeted capacity, meaning it only covers the critical and vulnerable cases.

Angara said that because some confirmed cases have proven to be asymptomatic, or those who showed no symptom, there may be “silent carriers” who are going untested and may be infecting others.

“We need massive and random testing. With massive and random testing, you can spot the silent carriers and then the individuals concerned and their communities will be able to respond appropriately to stop the spread of the virus,” Angara said.

Angara said random testing should begin in congested areas such as markets and jails. 

“Apart from our jails, we should also pay close attention to the other high-risk environments such as the nursing homes for the elderly and the dorms of migrant workers. With massive and random testing, we will be able to contain the virus and get our lives back to normal faster,” Angara said.

More labs

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) said on Saturday that 90 more laboratories have expressed their intent to obtain certification to test for coronavirus.

A total of 56 applications have already been submitted, said the RITM.

“Out of the 16 laboratories that have been certified, two underwent a repeat of the proficiency tests, whereas the others got 100% marks on their first assessment. This paints a very encouraging picture of COVID-19 testing capacity and the accuracy of results in the Philippines,” said RITM Director Celia Carlos.

Coronavirus cases in the Philippines continued to climb on Saturday, bringing the total to 6,087 confirmed cases. The latest figure includes 397 deaths and 516 recoveries. – Rappler.com