SMC inaugurates coronavirus testing lab

Conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) inaugurated on Friday a new coronavirus testing laboratory in Mandaluyong with an initial capacity of 4,000 tests per day using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), deemed as the gold standard for COVID-19 testing.

The new hub, called Better World Edsa, can increase its testing capacity to 12,000 per day or nearly a quarter of the government’s targeted daily capacity for the whole country.

The facility aims to test some 70,000 employees in SMC’s network, citing the need to unburden the public health-care sector and help ensure a safe return-to-work strategy in the coming months, SMC announced on Friday.

Marker unveiling

SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang unveiled the marker for the new laboratory along with National Task Force against COVID-19 chief implementer and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., COVID-19 Task Force deputy chief implementer and testing czar Vince Dizon and Department of Health Undersecretary Leopoldo Vega.

The laboratory is equipped with two sets of RT-PCR machines and fully automated nucleic acid extraction systems or NATCH. Each set is comprised of two PCR machines and one NATCH.

“With this facility, we are taking responsibility for testing our own employees and unburdening our health system. It also helps make our operations more resilient to disruptions brought about by the virus. Lesser disruptions on our operations will allow us to better contribute to the immediate recovery of the economy,” Ang said.