MANILA, Philippines—A new coronavirus testing lab in the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) will soon serve senior citizens and uniformed personnel.
The lab, donated by Filipino pharmaceutical firm Unilab, was seen as a major boost to government efforts to scale up coronavirus testing capacity. It is capable of processing 300 to 400 tests daily.
Officials from the National Task Force (NTF) COVID-19 visited the new lab on Wednesday (June 17). It will be operational starting next week.
“This laboratory will be a big help especially for senior citizens, uniformed personnel and Quezon City residents,” said Carlito Galvez Jr., NTF chief implementer and presidential adviser on the peace process.
“That’s why we thank Unilab for the help they gave,” Galvez said.
“This is a big improvement for VMMC,” said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, NTF chair.
“We have been treating COVID cases since the start and this is a development so we can process COVID cases on our own,” Lorenzana said.