Manila opens fourth coronavirus testing center

MORE ROOMS NEEDED A suspected coronavirus patient is taken into an isolation tent at Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center in Tondo, Manila. The city government opened its fourth testing facility for the new coronavirus disease at the hospital on Thursday. —RICHARD A. REYES

The Manila City government opened on Thursday its fourth center offering free testing for the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) for both residents and nonresidents.

The walk-in facility located at the Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center (GABMMC) in Tondo subjected 112 individuals to rapid tests on its first day of operations, according to GABMMC medical director Ted Martin.

Open from Monday to Friday, it can accommodate 100 people a day for now.

The blood samples taken from those undergoing testing are screened using serology machines recently bought by the city government. The machines help detect the IgG antibody for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which causes COVID-19.

Last week, Manila opened two drive-thru testing centers near the Andres Bonifacio Monument on Taft Avenue and at the Quirino Grandstand. The two facilities can accommodate a total of 900 individuals a day.

Earlier this week, the city’s first walk-in testing site was opened at the Ospital ng Sampaloc.

Testing is free for both residents and nonresidents at all four centers, with a valid identification card the only document required. Martin, meanwhile, said there were now eight vacant beds at the GABMMC’s COVID-19 ward after some patients were discharged while others were referred to quarantine facilities.

The hospital management announced earlier this week that the ward had reached full capacity with the admission of 76 COVID-19 related cases.