DOH: Certifying teams enough to accredit more COVID-19 testing labs

LAB TRAINING Volunteer scientists and personnel of Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC) train at a laboratory of the University of the Philippines Mindanao in Davao City to prepare for their work at the COVID-19 testing facility of DRMC. —PHOTO COURTESY OF UP MINDANAO

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said the number of its certifying teams is enough to process the application of laboratories to conduct coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing as the government aims to ramp up its testing capacity.

This came as the government announced it is eyeing to accredit over 50 more laboratories to have a total of 78 testing centers by the end of May.

So far, the DOH has eight accreditation teams that assess applicant laboratories, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said.

“Sa ngayon sapat pero lumalaki din ‘yung bilang ng mga applicants for certifications (For now, the certifying teams are enough but the number of applicant laboratories is growing.)…I’m sure there will be more teams that we need to put together as more and more applicants file for certifications,” Duque said in an online press briefing.

“So as of today, wala naman akong feedback na kulang yung certifying team so so far okay,” he added.

(As of today, I have not received feedback that the number of certifying teams is inadequate.)

The Philippines so far has 23 accredited coronavirus testing centers nationwide.

As of May 6, a total of 130,990 individuals have been tested for COVID-19.

The Philippines has so far recorded 10,343 confirmed COVID-19 cases as 339 more cases were reported on Thursday.

The recovery tally, meanwhile, increased to 1,618 while the death toll rose to 685.

There are currently 8,040 active cases in the country.

GSG