BALANGA CITY –– The Bataan provincial government has earmarked P20 million to buy laboratory equipment for a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing center to be built at the Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC).
The laboratory center is expected to open by mid-May. Its application to be accredited as a COVID-19 laboratory is now at Stage 4 of review by the Department of Health.
Bataan Governor Albert Garcia said the reverse transmission Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) machine to be supplied by a medical development company in Metro Manila, can give almost 100-percent accuracy.
The testing equipment can churn out 100 to 200 test results per day.
Garcia said the provincial government is also set to buy 45,000 test kits.
He said the BGHMC had been designated as an exclusive COVID-19 hospital for Bataan patients. “This is to avoid exposure of non-COVID patients and prevent the spread of the virus,” he said.
Last week, Garcia announced that the old provincial capitol building shall be temporarily converted into a hospital to admit non-COVID patients.