Swab tests show 109 Tondo 1 residents infected

MANILA, Philippines — Out of 1,451 residents in Manila’s Tondo 1 district who underwent rapid testing for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) during a 48-hour “hard lockdown” that ended on Tuesday, 109 were found positive.

They were taken to a quarantine facility in Delpan where they underwent swab testing. The samples will then be analyzed by a polymerase chain reaction machine for a second confirmatory test.

Until the results come in, the 109 residents who are now considered probable cases will remain at the facility.

Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso has talked to the management of Chinese General Hospital to speed up the processing of the samples, some of which were sent to Philippine General Hospital.

The tests were administered by health workers at different schools in Tondo 1 that were turned into temporary testing centers.

Authorities, meanwhile, apprehended 281 people who broke quarantine during the 48-hour period.