Taguig City can now conduct 2K coronavirus tests daily

MANILA, Philippines — Taguig City can now conduct around 2,000 tests daily for the coronavirus disease with the establishment of a national testing facility at the Enderun Colleges in Bonifacio Global City, Mayor Lino Cayetano said on Tuesday.

Cayetano said the city government can only conduct a maximum of 1,000 tests daily for COVID-19 before the mega swabbing center was set up at the college.

“Kung dati, 1,000 sa isang araw, ngayon kaya ang 2,000 dahil sa pag-augment ng national testing facility na nilagay sa Taguig ngunit nagseserbisyo rin sa ibang lungsod,” he said in a press briefing on Tuesday.

(If before we can only conduct 1,000 tests a day, now we can conduct up to 2,000 tests because of the augmentation from the national testing facility that was set up in Taguig but also caters to other cities.)

So far, a total of 18,503 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for COVID-19 have been conducted by the city since the outbreak in January.

Cayetano said Taguig’s “secret” to efficient testing is its facilities’ capability in conducting tests for coronavirus patients.

For instance, all 31 health centers in the city are capable of conducting COVID-19 tests.

“I really believe that the key is health center testing. All health centers in Taguig does COVID-19 testing,” said the mayor.

Aside from the health workers at the mega swabbing center, Taguig currently has 128 personnel who conduct swab tests. They are composed of 61 workers in health centers, 30 in Taguig Pateros District Hospital, 24 from the City Health Office, and 12 from the City Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance Unit.

Just recently, 327 workers in a construction site in Bonifacio Global City tested positive for COVID-19. Cayetano, however, assured that the virus is contained at the construction site following the immediate lockdown of the area.

The total number of confirmed cases of infection in the city was recorded at 1,516 as of July 12, comprising 883 active cases, 610 recoveries, and 23 deaths.

According to Cayetano, the high number of COVID-19 cases in the city was triggered by the relaxation of community quarantine measures in Metro Manila as well as the intensified testing drive.

EDV