San Juan City assures safe mass testing at basketball court

MANILA, Philippines — The local government of San Juan City assured citizens that it is following strict health protocols during the COVID-19 mass testing at a basketball court in the city.

San Juan Mayor Francis Zamora said health workers conducting swab tests at the basketball court at Barangay Corazon De Jesus use personal protective equipment (PPEs) and face shields.

“The swabbers were wearing PPEs and face shields. The PUIs, PUMs and those to be tested had masks, gloves and observed social distancing,” the mayor wrote in an Instagram post on Friday.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_WuHgwpKol/?igshid=1ts35o44boqlk

Zamora added that they also put up alcohol stations and ensured proper ventilation at the basketball court.

“Dangerous if air-conditioned area kasi mas prone magspread yung virus (as it is prone to spread virus). All precautionary measures were undertaken,” he said on Twitter.

Ang test po na ating isinasagawa sa San Juan ay ang swab test gamit ang mga PCR machine ng ating DOH certified partner molecular diagnostics laboratory at UP NIH. Ito po ang sinasabing "gold standard of tests” na iminumungkahi ng DOH at ng WHO kung saan 95-97% ang accuracy nito. pic.twitter.com/xLpeHLFIkM

— Mayor Francis Zamora (@franciszamora30) April 24, 2020

Zamora said they are coordinating with the Department of Health and University of the Philippines’ National Institutes of Health for the mass testing.

Those eligible for the localized mass testing in San Juan are “suspects, probable and frontliners.”

Those infected with COVID-19 may also undergo retesting to detect if they have recovered from the disease.

The health department described suspects as persons under investigation who are not yet tested while probable are those with critical, severe, mild COVID-19 symptoms but are waiting for their test results.