DOH says PH now has 54 accredited COVID-19 test laboratories

MANILA, Philippines — There are now 54 laboratories that can facilitate the COVID-19 test nationwide, the Department of Health (DOH) said Saturday.

“We currently have 54 licensed labs,” DOH spokesperson and Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.

Of the 54 laboratories, 41 are RT-PCR laboratories while 13 are GeneXpert laboratories.

Meanwhile, 58 laboratories are on stages 3 and 4 of the five-stage accreditation process set by DOH.

“[We] have 58 labs on stage 3 and stage 4 of licensing process which we hope to license by the second week of July,” the DOH spokesperson added.

As of Saturday, the Philippines has 21,340 COVID-19 cases, of which 4,441 have recovered while 994 have died.

KGA