Teodoro: All Marikina frontliners to undergo testing

MANILA, Philippines — All those at the front line of the fight against the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Marikina City will be tested whether or not they show symptoms, Mayor Marcelino Teodoro said.

On Wednesday, a first batch of 50 police officers who manned checkpoints were tested after Marikina’s molecular laboratory opened last week following a monthlong battle to receive accreditation from the Department of Health.

The city is eyeing mass testing in communities, schools and factories in the days ahead, especially as officials confront the prospect of lifting the enhanced community quarantine.

“The time to care for our front-liners is now,” Teodoro said in a statement. “Both medical and nonmedical workers alike. Because of the length of their exposure to the virus, we want them to receive supportive medical treatment.”

He added that a blanket testing policy was needed for front-liners because many could be asymptomatic. Research has shown that even carriers without symptoms are capable of spreading COVID-19, and front-liners come into contact with a wide range of people every day.Marikina has procured polymerase chain reaction machines—the “gold standard” of testing—that allow results to be ready within 24 hours. Teodoro said this would allow police officers and other front-liners to return home to their families rather than undergo a 14-day quarantine.

The opening of Marikina’s laboratory has equipped the city to conduct mass testing, not just for front-liners but also for immunocompromised residents and persons under investigation.