6 PH hospitals to receive FDA-approved test kits from UP

“Ang unang mga testing kits na maaaring magproseso ng 26,000 na galing sa UP NIH ay ipapadala sa sumusunod na ospital:PGH, Makati Medical Center, Medical City, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Southern Philippines Medical Center at Baguio General Hospital Center,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a virtual press conference.

(The first test kits that are 26,000 from the UP NIH will be delivered in PGH, Makati Medical Center, Medical City, Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center, Southern Philippines Medical Center and Baguio General Hospital Center.)

Vergeire noted that the first test kits given to the said laboratories will be used starting April 4 (Saturday) to April 5 (Sunday).

Previously, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the UP-made COVID-19 test kits which is now for commercial use.

The FDA already approved the test kits on March 10, which only gave a go-signal for field testing.

Vergeire said it will soon create guidelines for mass testing of patients checked for the disease, which is set on April 14.

She also recorded that so far, they have tested 900 to 1,200 tests per day. But by the end of April, the DOH aims to conduct 8,000 to 10,000 tests per day by the end of April.

So far, DOH recorded 5,530 persons under investigation who had undergone COVID-19 testing.

Edited by JPV