Manila City to prioritize swab testing of vendors, market-goers in new lab

MANILA, Philippines — Swab testing of vendors and market-goers in the nation’s capital city will be the priority once the new COVID-19 testing laboratory opens there, Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso said Tuesday.

According to Moreno, he already ordered the Manila Health Department to supervise the conduct of swab tests for vendors and customers in the city’s public markets.

“Sa ayaw at gusto natin, pupuntahan talaga ang mga palengke kung bibili sila ng pagkain kaya bibigyan natin ng kapanatagan ang tao, ang manininda at ‘yung mga mamimili,” Moreno said in an inteview over Radio DWWW 774.

(Whether we like it or not, people will go to the markets to buy food so we’ll give the vendors and customers the peace.)

Moreno earlier announced that the Manila City government has acquired two new machines for reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test as well as a second molecular laboratory in Sta. Ana Hospital.

“Ang good news, pinagpapasalamat ko uli sa DOH (Department of Health), sa DBM (Department of Budget and Management) at sa private sector dahil nabigyan kami ng dalawang makinang bago para sa swab testing, magkakaroon din kami bagong laboratoryo,” he said.

(The good news is, I thank DOH and DBM and the private sector again for the two new machines for swab testing, we will also have a new laboratory.)

Sta. Ana Hospital already had its first molecular laboratory that processes 350 COVID-19 tests per day.

Once the second testing facility starts to operate, Moreno said the city could conduct a total of 1,000 swab tests daily.

Also, Moreno disclosed plans to provide free swab tests to public utility drivers in Manila.

As of Monday, Manila City recorded 10,488 total cases of COVID-19. Of the sum, 9,245 patients recovered from the respiratory ailment while 381 succumbed to the disease.

KGA