Gov’t eyes 13k to 20k COVID-19 tests per day by April 27 with extended quarantine

MANILA, Philippines—The extension of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) over Luzon will allow the government to raise its COVID-19 testing capacity to 13,000 to 20,000 tests per day by April 27,  Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said on Tuesday.

“Ang sinasabi ng mga eksperto para talagang ma-manage natin ng husto ang COVID-19, kailangan po natin iakyat pa lalo ang testing capacity ng ating bansa na maabot po natin ang 8,000 to 10,000 tests per day. Kailangan po tayong umabot dyan,” Nograles, also the spokesman of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), said during a virtual briefing.

(Experts say that to properly manage COVID-19, we need to increase our testing capacity in the country to 8,000 to 10,000 tests per day. We need to achieve that.)

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To achieve the intended 13,000 to 20,000 tests per day, way over the necessary testing capacity, Nograles said they will have to “maximize” the use of existing subnational laboratories that are capable of conducting COVID-19 tests.

“‘Pag ginawa po natin yung maximization ng existing subnational laboratories natin, by April 13, aakyat na ang ating capacity to 2,600 to 7,000 tests per day,” the Cabinet secretary claimed.

(If we maximize our existing subnational laboratories, by April 13, our testing capacity will rise to 2,600 to 7,000 tests per day.)

He added that the government also needs to certify more subnational laboratories, which he said will allow the testing capacity to increase to 4,400 to 9,800 tests per day by April 20.

“Pangatlo, establish big testing centers in strategic areas around the country — all over the Philippines. Strategic testing centers. ‘Pag nagawa po natin yan – at lahat ‘yan sabay-sabay ah – by April 27, aabot na po tayo ng 13,000 to 20,000 tests per day,” Nograles claimed.

(Third, we plan to establish big testing centers in strategic areas around the country — all over the Philippines. Strategic testing centers. If we do those plans simultaneously, by April 27, we will have reached [the testing capacity of] 13,000 to 20,000 tests per day.)

“Yun po ‘yung mga ginagawa nating hakbang kaya po kailangan pa natin ng additional two weeks or more para umabot tayo dyan sa level na ‘yan, kaya po ‘yun ang naging decision ng IATF at ni Pangulo na sana maunawan niyo. Kailangang-kailangan po talaga nating i-extend ang ECQ up to April 30,” he stressed.

(Those are the steps we are taking, which is why we need the additional two weeks or more to achieve that level, so that has been the decision of the IATF and the President and we hope you understand.)

The University of the Philippines-Los Baños has recently offered to convert its existing research laboratories to become a subnational testing center to aid the government in the fight against the pandemic.

The Philippines has 3,660 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 163 deaths, as of Monday, April 6.