A new coronavirus testing laboratory at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC)
MANILA, Philippines — Two more facilities for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing were accredited by the Department of Health, bringing the total number of certified COVID-19 testing laboratories in the country to 77.
“As of yesterday, we have 77 laboratories. Ito po ‘yung licensed na ng ating DOH and RITM-certified,” Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an interview on ABS-CBN’s Teleradyo.
On Tuesday, Vergeire said that the country has so far tested over 800,000 individuals for COVID-19, and that 75 laboratories for coronavirus testing have so far been accredited.
The average number of tests conducted daily is at 17,500 per day, with the highest record at 19,500 tests conducted for a single day last week, according to the health official.
The Philippine government aims to conduct 1 million tests for the coronavirus disease by July, following the recent arrival of over 1 million test kits.
Meanwhile, Vergeire reminded the public that rapid antibody test results need confirmation from reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (swab) tests since the former only detects antibodies and not the virus itself.
“’Usually lumalabas ang antibodies sa katawan natin on the 5th day or more kapag ikaw ay may sakit. So most often than not, you’ll get people na tinetest na asymptomatic, nagnenegative talaga lalo na kung umpisa pa lang ng sakit nila,” she explained.
(Usually, the antibodies surface on the 5th day or more of being sick. So most often than not, you’ll get asymptomatic people who will test negative especially if they have just started being sick.)
The DOH has already recorded 50,359 COVID-19 cases in the country as of Wednesday, with additional 2,538 additional fresh and late cases.
One thousand three hundred fourteen patients have so far expired while 12,588 others have recovered.
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