DOH urged to accredit more labs to process COVID-19 tests

MANILA, Philippines – Health authorities should revisit its policy on the accreditation of COVID-19 testing centers as more health workers and medical technologists get infected, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) said on Thursday.

CHR said reports that the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) — the country’s prime COVID-19 testing facility — are now scaling down lab operations after 43 employees got infected would be a big blow to government efforts to conduct mass testing.

As such, the commission said that the Department of Health (DOH) should ensure the creation of more laboratories to lift the load off RITM while protecting all health workers so that they can continue fighting the pandemic.

“It is then recommended that DOH reviews its policy to decentralize and ensure that more labs are accredited or made capable of conducting real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT PRC) tests,” CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said in a statement.

“It is also imperative to ensure the efficient transportation of medical equipment and other lifesaving saving devices through sustained coordination with hospitals and local governments. Procurement of PPE must also remain transparent and in full compliance with government procurement standards,” she added.

On Wednesday, DOH said that at least 1,062 health workers have contracted the latest coronavirus strain — 422 of which are doctors, 386 are nurses, 30 medical technologists, 21 radio technologists, 51 nursing assistants, and 152 administrative and barangay health workers.

Of these, 26 have already died due to the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed alarm on the “very worrisome” trend of increasing infected health workers — which is at least four times the rate of the average in the Western Pacific region.

WHO says that 13 percent of the country’s COVID-19 patients are health workers, way higher than the 2 to 3 percent average which includes China, where the coronavirus originated.

De Guia said that the role of those in the medical field is important to combat the virus.

“Amidst a national health emergency, medical workers are fighting a two-front battle—dealing with an increasing number of COVID-19 patients, while also facing the shortage of PPEs meant to prevent themselves from being infected, as well as infecting others,” she said.

“In the end, our health workers are our best shot in putting an end to the pandemic. We honor them for their sacrifices, but adequate resources and care, such as ample rest and support for their mental health, should also be assured by the government and other authorities,” she added.

In the Philippines, an enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) was placed over Luzon and other areas to curb the rising COVID-19 cases.  However, with the ECQ’s April 30 deadline nearing, the administration has yet to decide whether it will be extended.

The DOH said that there are now 6,981 patients infected with the coronavirus, of which 462 have died and 722 have recovered.

Worldwide, over 2.62 million individuals have been infected, while 182,907 have died from the disease and 708,160 have recovered from it.

EDV